Bad Company
by Vernie
Summary: When Chad finds himself in trouble after a bad car accident, he becomes an unwilling house guest at the Munroe's. Soon Sonny discovers that maybe he isn't the superficial jerk she thought he was, especially when she begins having problems of her own...
1. Chapter 1

**Bad Company**

**Chapter 1; Part I.**

The California sun beamed down in Chad Dylan Cooper's convertible as he sped down the freeway on his way to work that morning. Condor Studios was only a short distance away from the Cooper mansion, making Chad's risky morning driving habits even more ludicrous. But what was the point in owning a $80,000 sports car if you didn't gun it to work every now and again? He was young and vibrant; it wasn't as if he were an ancient grandma on the way to church, or some middle-aged dude with a carload of screaming brats—he had places to do and people to go.

Wait, did he get that backwards?

It had been a long and crazy night followed by an early wake-up call. While Chad had usually saved his partying for the mornings he wasn't forced up at the crack of dawn, this was his last day at the studio before Mac Falls would go on hiatus. It wasn't as if he had to tape some crucial scene where he found out that the love of his life was actually his stepfather's long lost daughter. No, today they were re-shooting a few season finale scenes one of his less-talented co-workers had fudged up. He would pop in right quick, amaze the director, then be on his way to three blissful months alone in his multimillion dollar mansion.

Chad made it to work in record time. In disbelief that he had actually arrived five minutes early for once, Chad made sure to sit in his car for a bit before entering the building. After all, he didn't want everyone to get used to the idea of him arriving to the studio on time—then they would begin to expect this sort of behavior from him, and Chad was a firm believer in seeing how far he could push things.

He instantly noticed that So Random!'s very own Sonny Munroe had parked her car a few spaces behind his reserved spot as she exited her family sedan, balancing a drink holder full of lattes in her hands. He could see that she was struggling not to spill the warm drinks as she lugged a bag up over her shoulder. How sweet, Sonny had actually made herself late for work by doing a favor for her friends. Chad smiled as he shook his head at the girl, realizing that after several months of living in Hollywood, Sonny Munroe had still not allowed the business to change her—the trademark of a D-list celebrity.

Smirking as Sonny squeezed between his and the neighboring car, Chad's hand hovered over the horn. Now Chad Dylan Cooper _did _in fact have a conscience, and it was screaming at him right now to put his hands under his legs, pinning them to the seat beneath him to prevent them from what they were so badly wanting to do.

Unfortunately for Chad, his conscience never won.

_Beep!_

Sure enough, the sudden sound of the car horn was enough to make the brunette girl jump in surprise, throwing her lattes all over herself and Chad's car in the process. Chad laughed uncontrollably as he turned on his windshield wipers, streaking away the light brown liquid which he knew couldn't have been any hotter than lukewarm—not after being driven through the busy streets of Los Angeles at eight in the morning.

Sonny turned to him, her eyes burning with the most intense anger Chad had ever witnessed in his entire life. _If looks could kill. _Maybe he should've felt guilty for what he'd just done to Sonny, but then he reminded himself that this was the same girl who, only days ago, had accused him of having a cruel sense of humor—_Ridiculous._ No, she definitely got what she had coming.

**II.**

Sonny, completely appalled at what had just happened, dropped the foam cups to the ground and stormed angrily into the studio, her nice new clothes now covered in coffee stains. She would _not _give Chad the satisfaction of the daily argument the boy seemed to crave so badly these days. No, today she would be the bigger person and walk away.

"What took you so long? And where are our lattes?" Tawni asked her when she had arrived to the prop house, still soaked from her caffeinated shower. "Ugh, what happened to you?"

"Chad Dylan Cooper happened to me," Sonny replied in disgust.

Nico grimaced at her remark. "He's up to his usual antics again?"

"There is nothing _usual_ about these antics, Nico," Sonny replied, collapsing to the couch as her friends ducked away from their sopping-wet co-star. "Chad has always been...not kind. But he has really taken it to the next level over the past few weeks! Seriously guys; I don't know what's going on with him anymore."

Tawni scrunched up her nose up in distaste. "Why are you complaining about Pooper! We'll all be on hiatus for the next three months. Don't waste your time worrying about him."

Sonny sighed. "I guess you're right, Tawni..."

"Uh, yeah," Tawni replied, looking up from studying her fingernails. "You need to be worrying about what outfits I should pack for my trip to Miami! Come on, start prioritizing, Sonny!"

Rolling her eyes at her blonde cast mate, Sonny retreated to her dressing room to change out of her now-ruined outfit. Tawni had a point; Chad wouldn't even be in her life for the next several weeks. Why on Earth would she waste her free time worrying about someone who only cared for himself?

And right then, Sonny Munroe vowed to take full advantage of the next three Chad-free months by enjoying the peace and quiet they would surely bring.

**III.**

"I guess this means good-bye, Portlyn," Mackenzie told his on-screen girlfriend, "For now at least,"

Portlyn looked away dramatically.

"When will you learn to love only one girl, Mackenzie?"

"When the love of one girl is enough to fill my ample heart," he told her solemnly, holding her hand until her fingers finally slipped from his grasp.

"That's a wrap, people," Chad's director announced as Chad popped his collar and the cast and crew of Mac Falls began to scatter. That's when his producer approached him, looking up momentarily from the clipboard in his hands that he had been busily scribbling away at moments ago. "Chad, a word?" he asked the young star in a serious tone.

With a frown, Chad approached his producer, Gary, apprehensively. Why was Gary delaying his downtime? The scene had been shot, and the season was complete; what more could the guy want from him?

"Stellar performance this season, Chad," his producer praised him, turning his attention back to his work as he spoke.

"Alright," Chad said with a shrug. "Stating the obvious. Now, what do you _really _want?"

Looking up with a glare, Gary slammed the clipboard down onto the podium in front of him. "How about I tell you what I _don't _want this time, Chad?" he said, his voice becoming angry. "I do not want a repeat of Christmas break. For some reason, every time we're on any type of hiatus, you take it as a free pass to act irresponsibly. But I'm telling you right now that you need to watch your behavior this time. If you trash anymore hotel rooms, so God help me..."

Chad's eyes narrowed. "I wasn't trashing it; I was merely redecorating...in a destructive way."

"Listen here, being on the number one 'tween drama puts you in the very public eye. Do you think parents will allow their 10 and 12-year-olds to continue watching the Falls if you're acting like a stupid frat boy? We're talking about the risk of losing viewers here, not to mention quite possibly your life-"

Chad rolled his eyes and began to walk away. He was not about to stand there while his producer flapped his gums away about something completely ridiculous—Chad knew he had complete control over his life, and he always had.

"Walk out now and I'm calling Mr. Condor immediately," Gary warned venomously.

Swearing, Chad finally stopped, not bothering to turn around to meet his producer's glare.

"Now I am giving you one warning and one warning only: No shenanigans this time, Cooper! Keep your act clean, or lose your job. It's your decision!" Gary sternly called out as Chad continued to walk away.

**III.**

It didn't take Chad very long to return home that night, squalling his tires in the Condor Studio parking lot until the retched smell of burning rubber filled the air. With a smirk, he tugged on a pair of designer sunglasses as he headed quickly for home—as quickly as one can move during rush hour, that is.

He'd put in a lot of hard work at the Falls, and now it was time for a celebration of the liquid variety. Upon entering the double doors of his extravagant home, Chad freed himself of the his Mac Falls confides, losing articles of clothing as he scaled the marble stairs to his father's study. Now standing only in his shorts, he quickly crouched down to study the various remaining alcohols that Dad Dylan Cooper had stored in his liquor cabinet:

He considered the scotch first. It was a drink for the most distinguished of men, but it also burnt his throat the entire way down. Pass.

Next he pulled out a bottle of coconut rum. Tasty, but too girly. Next.

Whiskey. It seemed like an obvious choice for someone wanting to get drunk, quick. Then again, he wasn't some strung-out musician looking for cheap thrills. That, and it might eventually effect his singing voice. CDC was much too classy for that.

He finally settled for a bottle of the finest Vodka money could buy. He didn't exactly have any of the obvious mixers most kept on hand, the grocery store cashier having turned him down when he tried to purchase some just last weekend when he failed to provide adequate identification. It was a bit ridiculous; after all, how would one get drunk on mixers alone?

Soon he was peering through his the giant stainless steel refrigerator in the kitchen, smiling when he found the carton of orange juice tucked away in the back. Before he knew it, Chad was kicking it in his indoor pool with a screwdriver in hand when his phone rang.

"CDC, what it do!"

"Are you partaking in your evening festivities already?" a voice wavered on the other side of the phone.

"Not wasting a single minute on my at-home vacation," Chad grinned, the alcohol's effects already pleasantly numbing each of his five senses. The burn in his stomach and the way his pool lounge seemed to drift so slowly across the water were both good indications that he was buzzing pretty good at this point.

"Seriously? You get invites to all of these hot Hollywood parties, and your kicking it by yourself?" his friend, Drake, asked in disbelief. "How do you plan on hooking up with any hotties when you're spending your time at home alone, drinking yourself silly? _Pathetic_."

Chad laughed loudly into the phone, pushing his sunglasses up on his nose and relaxing into his chase lounge. "These are the same parties who _do not serve _minors, might I remind you. If you wanna go and have yourself a nice ginger ale while you compare purity rings with Joe Jonas, then by all means..."

"And if you want to spend your vacation living like a hermit, then by all means," Drake retorted. "Personally, some sort of female companionship and a wild night at an exclusive club sounds much more promising. Besides, haven't you had enough booze to take you through the night?"

Chad rolled his eyes, leaning forward. "I tell you what, you be my designated driver, and I'll get us both into the hottest club in the city. I can probably talk one someone into serving me anyways. You, however, will have to spend the evening completely dry. If I get a DUI, there goes my career."

"Whatever. Get dressed and have some coffee or something to sober you up a bit. I'll be there in a couple of hours, and if you dare puke in my car-"

"Won't happen. CDC can hold his alcohol."

"That's what you said last time."

But instead of heading to the kitchen to put some coffee on, Chad found himself pouring another drink, this time with a little less orange juice and a lot more vodka. Thankfully, he found the alcohol to be a lot less abrasive to his throat now that it's desirable side-effects had begun to kick in. Almost two and a half hours—and a few shots of tequila—later, a loud car horn sounded from the circle drive in front of the Cooper residence.

Drake laid on the horn of his car impatiently.

Pulling on a clean shirt, Chad bolted down the stairs, missing the last two steps and falling face first onto the floor. Still a bit unsteady on his feet, Chad took one more drink from the bottle he held in his hand before hiding it in the potted plant beside the door. 'Better to ditch this than to be caught with it later,' he reminded himself, thinking back to the warning Gary had given him earlier that day. Chad knew he was completely smashed now, but his ego would never let him believe it was something he wasn't capable of handling. He had once given an impromptu interview to a paparazzo waiting outside of a restaurant when he was completely drunk, and it had gone seemingly unnoticed by his fans. This, he could handle.

"Took you long enough, princess," Drake told him, putting the car into gear and kicking up a cloud of dust as he high-tailed it out of the driveway.

"Well, you might get away with looking like a chump, but someone who's on television every week has to make himself look somewhat presentable," he reminded Drake. "You don't get this great-looking wishing about it; perfection takes time-"

His words were swiftly cut off as Drake swerved to the other lane, practically throwing Chad from his seat in the process. "Hey, slow it down, hot rod. Let's make it there in one piece," Chad warned.

Drake merely laughed, blowing a red light as the car sped up.

"I think I'd drive better drunk than you do sober," Chad said with a grimace, realizing how crazy this was, even in his drunken state. "Why don't you slow down before we get pulled over?"

Belching in reply, Drake rolled his eyes as he leaned over to pull a metal flask out from where it was tucked behind his belt before taking a long swig from it.

"You're drinking!" Chad exclaimed. "You're supposed to be my designated driver...and you're drinking in the car! Shit, are you drunk already?"

Drake merely smiled in reply.

Chad shook his head. "Pull over," Chad demanded, leaning over and attempting to take the wheel from his hands—something he normally would've known wasn't such a good idea considering his current state of inebriation. "Pull the hell over! You're gonna get me in trouble, you idiot!"

Drake met Chad's pleas with an elbow to the gut, and Chad doubled over in pain. "I have this under control, now settle down before you do make me wreck!"

"This is insane! I want out of here!" Chad exclaimed, sorely rubbing his abdomen.

"Whatcha gonna do, superstar? Tuck n' roll?" the boy asked him, cackling madly.

"It'd be a better idea than staying in this car with you," Chad retorted, realizing Drake had no intention of pulling over until they arrived at the club.

"I've done this plenty times before. I'm in complete control."

Chad hoped Drake knew what he was talking about. He should have expected this from the boy—Chad lived irresponsibly, but Drake lived downright dangerously. He should have known that Drake would pull something like this, and now he was screwed. He would have to wait it out and hope they made it to their destination safely. Then he could snag Drake's keys from him and call them a cab back to his place.

Unfortunately, the opportunity never came. As the car rounded a sharp curve halfway there, Drake struggled with the steering wheel as the car skidded off the road and out of control. Chad could see the line of trees in their path, and he knew they were dead. The last thing he remembered was the sound of the windshield crunching in front of him and the squeal of twisting metal. Chad could feel the car crushing around him and the agonizing pain of the bone in his leg snapping.

Then everything went dark.

**To be continued...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Bad Company**

**Chapter 2; Part I.**

Sonny Munroe was excited—scratch that, she was ecstatic about her first vacation since arriving in Hollywood. True, she would miss seeing the other Randoms everyday and playing fun and different characters in the sketches they created together each week, but now she finally had time to herself to enjoy the city, and her new boyfriend...

She blushed when she thought about Cory, her beau for the past six weeks. They had met on set when he was cast as an extra for the Fasties sketch and had quickly hit it off. She knew that now they would be spending a lot of time together since Tawni was in Miami, Grady in Orlando, and Nico and Zora spending their time off with their families and other friends. It would be perfect, she decided: She and Cory would finally get some much-needed boyfriend/girlfriend time together.

She was supposed to meet up with Cory early that morning, as he promised her a trip to the zoo, followed by and afternoon of walking about the art museum. But somehow Sonny's exhaustion from the long hours at work the day before had caused her to sleep right through the alarm, and she found herself awaking 45 minutes late that morning.

Bolting from her bedroom, Sonny scrambled past her mother, who was currently folding laundry in front of the television, before taking a speedy two minute shower and running a brush quickly through her dark hair. It wasn't the first time Sonny had been late to a date she had planned with Cory, and she didn't want to let him down again.

Squirting a glob of toothpaste onto her toothbrush, Sonny could hear her mother quickly turning up the volume of their television set, so much so that the sound was literally rattling the TV itself.

"Mom, do you think you could-"

"Shhh!" her mom quickly hushed her. "Oh my God." She could hear her mother quietly gasp from the other room, and Sonny frowned curiously, sticking her head out of the bathroom door to see what all the fuss was about. "Honey, I think you should come see this."

The television was tuned into a news channel with aerial footage of some horrendous car crash on the screen. There was a completely totaled red sports car twisted around a tree off the side of a major highway. Glass and crumpled pieces of metal were scattered everywhere. The images were revolting, and Sonny knew it was very unlikely that the occupants of the car had survived.

"I'm not sure I wanna watch this," Sonny admitted, holding her stomach as she winced at the scene.

Just then, the anchorwoman covering the story began to speak:

"_This is the scene of the car crash that happened last night at approximately 12 a.m. Actor Chad Dylan Cooper was involved in a single car collision, and one of the car's occupants was reportedly airlifted to Cedars Sinai Medical Hospital. Cooper's condition has not yet been released."_

It was then that the toothbrush Sonny still held in her hand slipped through her fingers, clanking loudly against the hardwood floor.

**II.**

"I need to see Chad Dylan Cooper."

Judging by the look on the face of the older woman standing behind the counter, Sonny hadn't been the only one there that morning wanting to see the young heartthrob. The nurse raised an eyebrow as she looked up at her. "What's your name sweetie?"

"Sonny Munroe."

"Are you a relative?"

Sonny bit her lip, shooting an awkward glance towards Nico and Zora, who she had forced to tag along with her. Not that they weren't curious—Chad was an acquaintance of theirs, and despite the fact that they usually did not get along, the two seemed to be more than a bit worried about him. The young actor might have been somewhat of an enemy to the cast of So Random! over the past several years, but it wasn't as if they were wishing any sort of ill fate to come to the boy.

Finally, against her better judgment, Sonny nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, sure am. I'm...his cousin!" she tried to convince the woman a little too excitedly.

The nurse studied her skeptically. "He sure does have a lot of cousins," she replied. "And sisters, come to think of it. You realize you can get into quit a bit of trouble for lying about something like this?"

Sonny's hands shook uncontrollably at the lie she had just fabricated. "Uh, duh!"

"Wait," a younger nurse who was pulling some files behind the counter piped up. "I've seen this girl before," she said, studying Sonny carefully as the young comedian's face began to pale. "I think-No, I am _certain_ I've seen photos of her and him together. I just can't remember where, though..."

"Yeah, we're photographed for _Teen People _all the time," Sonny insisted. "I mean, I _am _his cousin after all!"

The older woman continued to stare at Sonny, narrowing her eyes as if trying to decide whether or not she should believe the girl. Finally, the woman stood up from her chair, rounding the counter and motioning for the three kids to follow her.

"He's just got out of surgery a few hours ago, so he should be waking up relatively soon. Don't be surprised if he's disoriented—he probably has no clue where he is," the woman explained, pushing open the door to Chad's hospital room.

Sonny wasn't sure what to expect when she finally did see him. She had no clue what condition Chad was in when he was brought into the hospital last night, or any idea of the type of injuries he had sustained. Somehow, Sonny imagined him in a full-body cast and covered in blood, and it was that very image that had etched itself in her mind all morning, making her stomach twist.

However, when she, Nico, and Zora found themselves standing at the end of Chad's bed, he didn't look close to death at all. Matter of fact, he looked quite peaceful. There was no blood, but his face was pale and lightly bruised. There were dark rings around his closed eyes, and a cut that ran across the top of his forehead and into his hairline, which had already been carefully sutured shut. Sonny also noticed that his leg was in traction, alerting her that he had broken a bone in his leg.

"He was in bad shape last night when he was brought in," the nurse began. "He had lost a lot of blood, mostly due to the compound fracture to the tibia his leg. As you can see, there was a deep gash in his forehead. He has some other minor cuts and bruising on his arms and chest, and we ran an MRI on him this morning. We know that he sustained a concussion, but it's hard to say the extent of the damage to his brain right now."

Sonny's face fell. "That sounds really bad."

"He was very lucky though. His friend was a lot worse off than he was. We've tried calling Chad's parents, but haven't been able to reach them yet. Since you're related, maybe you can give us some idea as to where they are?"

Sonny's eyes widened at the question. It was a normal enough question for the nurse to be asking had she actually been Chad's cousin and not caught up in her own lie.

"His parents?"

The nurse nodded. "An officer was sent to his home last night, and the place was completely empty. We need to get into contact with them as soon as possible."

Sonny's mouth gaped, wondering how she was going to get herself out of this one. She had never even met Chad's parents, let alone had any clue where they could be.

Sensing her distress, Nico stepped forward and put his hand on the Sonny's shoulder. "She's very shaken right now," he offered. "I'm sure she'll let you know the minute she finds out anything."

And with a grateful smile, the nurse turned and left.

**III.**

Confused didn't even begin to describe the way Chad was feeling right now. As his eyes began to open, he could see the bright morning sun pouring into the strange room. He could feel the sharp pain in his right leg along with the dull ache he felt throughout his body. He was cold—freezing almost—except the the warm, smaller hand which held his own. As his eyes finally opened to take in his new, strange surroundings, Chad stared at the brunette girl at the side of his bed, her eyes twinkling with hope as the sunshine caught her hair, giving it an angelic glow. Then he noticed Nico Harris and Zora Whats-her-face standing behind Sonny looking bored. It was such a surreal scene he was witnessing that Chad knew surely he was dead.

He licked the top of his dry mouth before attempting to speak, the three people at his bedside perking up in interest.

"I must be in Hell, 'cuz I'm surrounded by Randoms."

The hope that once twinkled in Sonny's eyes was quickly replace with confusion, and then anger. Her brows drawing together, she finally let Chad's hand slip from her own.

"Nico, Zora," Sonny said monotonously, turning away from him, "Go tell the nurse he's awake now."

"What are you doing here?" Chad finally asked her as he watched the two other Randoms exit the room. "No wait; what am _I _doing here?"

"You were in a car accident last night, Chad."

Chad's mouth slowly went agape, his eyes widening at this information. He looked upset, and Sonny could have sworn he looked close to crying. "Oh...crap. Oh, crap!" he groaned, burying his face into his hands. "Crap, crap, crap! I can not believe this!"

Sonny quickly went to calm the upset boy, placing her hand lightly on his bruised arm to settle him. "Chad, it's going to be okay," she soothed. "You have a broken leg, but you'll be fine. I promise."

"My car!"

Sonny frowned. "What?"

"My car. Was it totaled?"

And there was the look he had been missing—the same look Sonny's face had held when she was covered in coffee. It was the look capable of killing a man.

"You..." she began, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before she allowed herself to continue. "You're in a serious car accident. I stop everything I'm doing, rush over here in tears, and all you can think about is your stupid car!" She felt like shoving him, and she would have, had his body not already have taken a beating the night before.

"Sonny, this is a brand new Porsche 911 we're talking about. I don't think you can blame me for being upset. Just...just give it to me straight, okay? Did my baby make it?"

"Chad..." Sonny frowned, thoroughly confused as she shook her head at him. "You weren't even in your car when it happened. You were with someone else. Don't you remember?"

It was then that Chad's doctor arrived in the room, Nico and Zora tagging behind him. "Good morning," he said. "I see your feeling better," he commented, pulling a light out of the pocket of his coat and shining it in Chad's eyes. "Do you know your name?"

"Chad Dylan Cooper," he replied, rolling his eyes.

"Year?"

"2010."

"How's your leg feeling?" he finally asked him, checking Chad's air cast.

"Terrible."

Sonny soon edged towards her seat, looking at the doctor curiously. "He doesn't remember the crash; is that normal?"

The doctor shrugged. "Usually I'd say no, but considering that Chad did have blood alcohol level of .19, I'd say it's not at all surprising."

Sonny's eyes quickly met Chad's as they widened in shock. "You were _drinking_?"

Squaring his jaw, Chad sent a glare towards his doctor. "What about the whole doctor/patient confidentiality thing?"

Realizing his blunder, the doctor looked up. "Well, she is your cousin. I assumed she'd already been filled in on the details of your condition."

"_Cousin_?" he asked, sending a curious glance Sonny's way as the girl quietly sunk down into her seat, cheeks flush. "She is _not_ my cousin," he replied in disgust, as if the idea of being related to a Random was the biggest insult one could give.

Sonny quickly averted her gaze, wondering whether or not the hospital would be mad about her little white lie, though it seemed that the doctor currently had bigger issues to deal with.

"Chad," the doctor went on, quickly trying to change the subject. "We haven't been able to get in contact with your parents. We need the number of where they're staying so we can have them sign off on some forms."

"They're on vacation," he offered, swallowing hard and looking a bit uncomfortable at the question.

"Alright. I just need the location where they're staying so I can have the nurses give them a buzz."

"I-I...don't know."

Suddenly, all eyes were on Chad as the room went deathly silent. And for once, the usually confident boy seemed embarrassed, staring down at his lap as he played with the blanket that covered him.

"How about a close relative?" he asked as Sonny blushed with guilt.

Chad merely shook his head.

Sonny couldn't help but to feel bad for him as he shifted uncomfortably under the doctor's gaze. Why on Earth would Chad's parents leave on vacation and not tell him where they were going? And why hadn't they been in contact with him to make sure he was doing okay when they had obviously left him home alone? It just didn't add up—Chad had a perfect home life, or at least that's what he had always led everyone to believe.

The doctor turned to Sonny, who still sat open-mouthed and staring the young actor. "We need to check his bandages," he told her. "He's got quite a few cuts and scrapes—it's probably best you give him some privacy for a bit."

Nodding, Sonny picked up her things and made for the door. "Um...feel better, Chad," was all she could seem to offer him, feeling as if somehow Chad Dylan Cooper's darkest secrets had just been revealed in the time span of three minutes.

Once he was sure that Sonny and the other Randoms had left, the doctor turned back to Chad, looking serious. "I'm going to tell you right now that this is a serious thing you've done," he informed Chad as he checked the laceration on his forehead. "There's been a policeman waiting outside for the past three hours, but I told him I couldn't let him speak with you until I knew you hadn't suffered any serious head trauma."

Chad gulped. "Am I in trouble?"

"I honestly don't know. But considering the circumstances, I wouldn't be surprised."

Sighing, Chad lie back against his pillow, closing his eyes in defeat. He had begun to piece together little snippets of the night before, but the only thing he could remember was coming home to have some drinks and then Drake showing up in his car. The rest was a blur.

It wasn't long before Officer Oakes had made himself at home in Chad's hospital room, throwing an heap of questions his way.

"Were you drinking last night?" had been the first question the man had asked him. Knowing that there was no point in denying the fact, Chad reluctantly nodded his head.

"Did you have liquor in the car?"

"I don't remember."

"Whose idea was it to take the party on the road?"

"I...don't know," Chad answered honestly. "What about Drake? Can't you ask him some of these questions? It was his car."

There was an awkward moment where Officer Oakes and Chad's doctor exchanged a glance.

Leaning forward in his chair, the officer finally spoke. "Your friend is dead, Chad."

And if there was ever a point in Chad's life where it felt like the Earth was standing completely still, this was it. He could feel his face pale as he sat there, staring speechlessly into the officer's dark eyes. There was nothing that he could say or do that would change anything, so sitting there in silence seemed like the only thing to do.

"There will be a hearing," the officer went on. "Considering that you weren't behind the wheel, you'll most likely only be charged with underage drinking. This is still a very serious charge, Mr. Cooper. Last night, a 17-year-old boy lost his life."

That night Chad sat alone in his dark room, hitting the button on his morphine pump as often as it allowed. He wondered what was going to happen to him after he'd been released from the hospital, and exactly what kind of trouble he'd just gotten himself into. More than anything, he wondered how much longer he was going to get away with living the life he'd become so accustomed to.


	3. Chapter 3

**Bad Company**

**Chapter 3; Part I.**

"I just don't get it," the tall, dark-haired boy said, running his hand through his hair in frustration. "We had this date planned out all week, and you cancel last minute by sending some vague text about visiting someone in the hospital?"

Sonny sighed. "I told you, Cory. A friend of mine got into a car accident last night," she argued, trying desperately to defend her actions that morning. "What was I supposed to do?"

"I don't know!" Cory exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. "You said it was only a broken leg—it's not like he had some life-threatening ailment or anything. Was it really worth ruining the entire day for both of us?"

Sonny's mouth gaped in disbelief. "The car was totaled. It could've been really serious!"

"Alright," Cory said, finally lowering his voice. "I know this 'friend' of yours is Chad Dylan Cooper. I mean, the story's been on the news all day. Just say it, okay? You two did have something going on after all."

"No!" Sonny replied, shock evident on her face. "How can you even say that, Cory? Chad is nothing to me. _Nothing_. I went with Nico and Zora to visit him and make sure he wasn't in a coma or paralyzed or maybe worse! I mean, we work in the same studio."

Through gritted teeth, the boy seethed in anger. "Sonny, when you go behind my back to see some other guy-"

"Cory, it wasn't even like that! Why are you trying to turn this into something that it isn't? The entire thing was completely innocent—I don't even understand why you're mad at me!"

The boy's usually warm brown eyes turned cold as he shook his head at his girlfriend. "Well, why don't I give you some time to think about it then?" he said angrily, storming out of the Munroe apartment and allowing the door to slam behind him.

Sonny's knees gave out from beneath her as she crashed down onto her emerald green sofa and burst into tears.

"Sonny, was that the door slamming?" her mom began, exiting the kitchen to see why Sonny and her boyfriend had been raising their voices towards one another. "Sweetie, what happened?" Connie Munroe asked her daughter, sinking down onto the couch at Sonny's side and wrapping her arms around the disheveled girl.

"Cory's mad at me," Sonny replied, wiping away her tears with a sniffle. "He's angry that I called off our date to go see Chad in the hospital."

Connie sighed. "Well, that wasn't very understanding of him. Chad's your friend, and you don't need to feel guilty about going to visit him. He was in a very serious car accident—of course you were worried about him."

"He didn't see it that way."

Sonny continued to cry, realizing she had just blown her three months of bliss with Cory. How had she managed to ruin such a perfect relationship in one morning? She had just wanted to make sure Chad was going to be okay—what was so wrong with caring about someone you see everyday? Cory was acting like she had been cheating on him. Despite what Cory believed, Sonny knew that she and Chad had never been anything more than friends, if that even.

And then Sonny's mind went to Chad. Truthfully, she had been thinking about him the entire day. It had come as a complete shock to find out he had been drinking heavily last night, and most likely it wasn't his first time doing so. The idea of Chad having some sort of drinking problem definitely explained his unusual behavior over the past few months, including his constant irritability and sudden lack of professionalism. She didn't want to believe that Chad was capable of abusing alcohol—he was only 17 after all—but all of the signs were there. And in the middle of all of this, Chad's parents were God knows where.

Sonny continued to cry in her mother's arms as she thought about everything that was going on with the drama snob, even though she knew she probably shouldn't have been wasting her time getting upset about it. The boy had brought this all on himself, after all; but somehow, Sonny couldn't let that fact stop her from worrying about him. Chad wasn't a _horrible _person—he had set her up an audition for a movie she wanted, kept her from humiliating herself by dressing up as Eric, and had even danced with her at the secret prom. Sonny knew that underneath his jerkish and rough exterior, there was a sensitive soul that cared about others.

"Sweetie, something tells me you're upset about a lot more than Cory right now," her mom said knowingly as she met her daughter's tearful gaze. "You've been acting really down all day."

Sonny took a few seconds to collect herself as her sobs began to die down.

"Mom, I think Chad's in trouble," she tearfully admitted. "The doctor said he had a high blood alcohol level when they brought him into the ER, and no one's been able to find his parents. Chad doesn't even seem to know where they're at!"

Connie bit her lip as she took in the information. "Do you know anything about his mom or dad? What kind of people they are?"

Sonny shrugged. "He used to talk about his mom once in awhile. He made it seem like she gushed over everything he did, but I've never seen her step foot in the studio. And he's never even spoke of his dad. But Chad has never even hinted that he doesn't get along with them."

Connie nodded. "It's possible that since Chad is such a well-known celebrity, he's trying to keep up with appearances. It sounds like there's a problem at home. I'll talk to Debrah at work Monday morning. She deals with a lot of cases like these."

"I don't know, Mom," Sonny said with uncertainty. "I don't think that Chad would like it if it got out that his parents might be neglecting him. Getting DCFS involved would definitely start a lot of rumors."

"Honey, this will all be confidential," Connie assured her daughter, squeezing her shoulder. "Chad sounds like he's in need of as much support as he can get right now. If his parents aren't around to do it, then he needs to find help somewhere else until they are. Considering the circumstances, chances are that the hospital won't have any choice but to alert DCFS anyways."

**II.**

"I had a bad feeling when you left the studio Friday."

Chad's tired eyes opened as his producer placed a cluster of cheesy 'Get Well' balloons at his bedside and sunk down into the chair next to him. The older man shook his head at the boy as he studied him. "I hate to say I told you so-"

"Good. Then don't."

Gary studied Chad with sorrow in his eyes. "Chad, you have a problem. You have to admit it now—you almost killed yourself."

"Great. Every inch of my body hurts, and you come all the way over here to lecture me," the blonde-haired boy said, lying back and closing his eyes. "You can just go now. I already know that I've been fired."

He heard Gary heave a loud sigh. "But the thing is, you haven't."

Chad's eyes opened curiously. "Mr. Condor didn't-"

"Oh, he saw the news. Everyone in the country saw the news. The thing is that this whole incident has everyone buzzing about you. Teen who plays nice guy on screen is an apparent badass? I don't think Mr. Condor could be more delighted."

Chad sat quietly for a minute. "Then why are you so pissed?"

"Because Mr. Condor is too caught up in the aspect of his studio making more money to realize that one of his stars is on a downward spiral," Gary went on. "I know that we clash heads sometimes, but you're a _good kid_, Chad. I know you wouldn't want me going out and ruining your reputation as a jerk, but I've known you for four years now."

When Chad didn't say anything, his producer continued. "I've seen a huge change in you this year. You stopped hanging out with the your cast. You never come to the same parties you used to love attending. All of the mornings you've come in with a hangover haven't gone unnoticed. You need help, and you know it. You're a bright star; but at this rate, it's just a matter of time before you burn out."

His producer's accusations caused Chad's mouth to turn down into a scowl. "You think that you know me," he began, angrily, "but you have no clue what my life is like, okay? Just because I'm doing the same thing tons of kids my age are doing every weekend doesn't mean I have a problem. I'm at work every morning aren't I? I'm showing up, doing my job. If I really had a problem, I wouldn't even be able to function-"

"Somebody died last night, Chad! Don't you get it?" Gary exclaimed, slamming his fist down on Chad's bedside table. "You and you're friend got drunk, got into his car, and wrapped it around a tree. It could have been _your_ death being mourned right now." Gary's eyes were burning with fury as he tried to get his point across. "Skyler and Portlyn and Ferguson are all worried to death about you, and this accident is your wake-up call to get some help."

The idea of Chad needing help from anyone only angered him more. Everyone was acting like he was some little boy who couldn't take care of himself, and Chad knew that wasn't the case at all. If they had any clue what life had been like for him over the past few years, they would know good and well he had been an adult for quite awhile now—he hadn't had any say in the matter.

"I am Chad Dylan Cooper: I don't _need _help. All I need is for everyone to get of my freakin' back."

"We're not doing this to annoy you, Chad. We're doing this because we care whether you live or _die_."

"Just get out," Chad finally said, waving his hand dismissively. "And I don't need your—or anyone else's—sympathy, so you all can just stop visiting."

"Chad-"

"Just leave already!" he finally screamed, his voice cracking as his face reddened.

Sighing, the older man stood up and slowly left the room, knowing good and well that this would not be the end of the young star's problems.

**III.**

The weekend went by excruciatingly slow for Sonny. Cory wasn't speaking to her, Chad wasn't allowing any more visitors at the hospital, and Nico and Zora were both off doing other things. Monday morning she caught herself watching reruns of Mackenzie Falls and wondering how Chad had managed to live a lie all of this time.

Then again, maybe Sonny had it all wrong. Maybe his parents really were on vacation, and Chad had forgotten where they were staying. Maybe this accident had been his first experience experimenting with alcohol. And perhaps, Chad Dylan Cooper really was an enviable A-list celebrity who had it all.

As Sonny watched Chad's character, Mackenzie, rescue his nemesis and half-brother from being tossed over the waterfall in a barrel, she couldn't help but to feel that maybe the real Chad and the character he played on TV had more in common than she thought. Maybe his whole selfish demeanor was all an act. Maybe the real Chad Dylan Cooper was actually sweet and caring. Secretly, she'd always wanted to believe that Chad truly was a nice guy, but the more she was around him, the less likely it seemed.

"Hey, sweetie," Connie said as she entered the door, throwing a pile of mail on the desk before sitting down next to her. "I have some wonderful news about your friend."

Sonny's sad expression instantly brightened. "They tracked down his parents. Everything is going to be okay after all!"

"I'm sorry, Sonny," Connie said as she placed the palm of her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "As much as I wish that were true, no one's been able to get into contact with them. But the good news is that Chad's going to have somewhere to stay when he gets out of the hospital—a place where he will get all of the love and support he needs right now."

As good as this news _should _have seemed, Sonny just couldn't imagine Chad staying in some foster home with a bunch of people that he didn't know. Sonny knew that there was no way Chad would go along with any of this, and she was so wrapped up in her own worried thoughts that she had almost tuned out to what her mother was currently saying.

"-so he'll be staying with us."

"Wait...what?"

"I've arranged for Chad to stay with us until his parents return home. Isn't that great, Sonny?" Her mother's voice was full of hope and cheer, but Sonny was too busy staring into outer space, trying to absorb this piece of information. "Chad is staying...here?"

"Yes!"

"I don't..." Sonny began, pausing to sigh. "This is a really bad idea, mom," she finally admitted. "I'm talking a _horrible_ idea."

Connie's excited smile instantly faded at her daughter's words. "Now Sonny Munroe, since when did I raise you to be so inhospitable? This boy is your friend, and you've been worrying yourself sick about him since this whole thing happened. I'm telling you that we've found a way to help him, and you're against it?" her mother said, shaking her head in disapproval. "We've taken in foster children before, Sonny," her mother reminded her. "You always welcomed them with open arms. How is this so different?"

"Mom, first off, that was back when we still lived in Wisconsin in a four bedroom house. Besides, this is not a friend—this is Chad Dylan Cooper! He's So Random!'s archenemy!" she said, emphasizing her statement by widening her eyes. "I know him pretty well, and I don't think he'd appreciate us meddling in his life. Chad staying with us in our cramped apartment? This is a recipe for disaster," Sonny pleaded. "And...and I don't deserve this! There's plenty of willing families that would love to take him in. Why does he have to move in with _us_?" Her voice was getting high and whiny now, and Sonny knew she sounded like a child. But the whole idea of them becoming a makeshift family for Chad was insane.

With crossed arms, Connie Munroe gave her daughter a glare of warning. "You may be on television now, Alison, but that is no reason to act like an ungrateful diva. You really want to send him away to live with complete strangers when we are more than capable of taking him in? There is enough room for Chad in our home, as well as our hearts. He's staying with us, and that's final."

**IV.**

Sonny went straight to her room after her argument with her mom, crashing onto her bed. "So much for my wonderful vacation," she muttered as she buried her face into her pillow. Tomorrow, Chad would be released from the hospital, and she and Connie would bring him back to their apartment to stay. There was no doubt in Sonny's mind that having Chad as a house guest was going to make her life a living hell. Just when she was sure things couldn't become any more complicated, her phone buzzed, alerting her of a text.

It was a message from Cory—a picture of a giant bouquet of roses and a message that read:

_I was wrong, and I'm sorry. Start over fresh tomorrow night with dinner?XOXO_

She smiled as she read his message, but then remembered what else would be taking place tomorrow. With a groan, Sonny buried her face back into her pillow. There was no way her boyfriend was going to go for this at all.

**X**

Thanks for your interest in this story so far. A few things to address here:

1. I realize that I'm making the Mackenzie Falls scenes completely ridiculous, but that is my intention (since the show is supposed to be completely ridiculous).

2. Yes, I know, a lot of original characters being thrown in. Don't get upset, there are only two reoccurring ones that will really matter, and they won't be thrown in too much. This fic will still be Chad and Sonny centric.

3. While this fic is a drama, I promise it won't always be this dramatic. This chapter was, because it was addressing a couple of serious issues—teen drinking and child neglect.

4. I had an image of Sonny's mom being preposterously hospitable, and was trying to get that idea across in this chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

**Bad Company**

**Chapter 4; Part I.**

"This is ridiculous! I'm 17 years old; I'm practically an adult!"

Sonny sighed. She had a plaguing feeling that things would not go well that morning, and boy was she right. When she and her mother had arrived at the hospital, the social worker assigned to Chad's case was to have already explained things to him. Maybe that's why he was already fuming when Sonny and her mother had arrived to pick him up that day.

Chad was already dressed in a pair of Mackenzie Falls sweats when they had arrived. He was still covered in bruises from the accident, though they had begun to fade. The cut on his forehead had also started to heal over, but it was obvious that the severity of the injury would leave him with a permanent scar. At least the color had begun to return to his skin, Sonny thought to herself.

Chad stood glaring at the three females who currently surrounded him. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself," he seethed. "I don't _need_ a babysitter."

"Chad," Deborah, Connie's colleague and Chad's social worker, said softly. "We know that you're almost an adult, but to the state of California you are still a minor. You need guidance-"

"This is _your _fault, Munroe!" Chad exclaimed hatefully, interrupting the woman as he sent a glare towards the brunette Random hiding in the corner of the room. "You and the other Randoms have always been jealous of Mac Falls. This is your way of retaliating!"

Normally having come back with some sort of snarky retort, Sonny slumped her shoulders in defeat, looking away in guilt. Yes, it was her fault, and none of this would have ever happened had she not become involved.

"Was it the stupid coffee thing?" he asked, his eyes burning with anger. "Big deal—I ruined your thrift store outfit. Is that any reason to _ruin my life_?"

Sonny winced at his remark, causing Connie to quickly take her daughter by the shoulders and lead her out the door.

"I told you he wouldn't go for this," Sonny remarked soberly once they were standing in the hallway.

"Don't feel bad. He's speaking irrationally right now, sweetie. This is pretty common in this type of situation," Connie said, trying to sooth her daughter. "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea for all of us to surround him like that. He's probably feeling outnumbered."

"You're never going to change his mind about this, Mom. You do realize that, right?" Sonny asked her mother as she sighed. "Chad is obviously used to living a very independent life. Putting up boundaries is only going to make him more angry."

"He just needs a bit of persuading."

Soon Chad's social worker was poking her head outside the door, and by the look on her face, she obviously hadn't had much luck. "Connie, maybe you could explain things to him? It seems that maybe you're more in the neutral area. He's under the impression that I'm here to chastise him." With a nod, Connie exchanged places with Deborah, taking a seat next to Chad's bedside where the boy sat staring at the floor.

"Chad, I understand why you don't want to come with us. Honestly, I don't blame you for lashing out like this. You've been through a terrible ordeal, and now you're expected to make this sudden life change? The idea of it all is a lot to get used to."

Chad didn't look up to meet the woman's eyes, his gaze staying fixed on the air cast off his injured leg.

"Just so you know, Sonny feels just awful. She told me that you wouldn't want to do this; she was afraid you'd be angry with her."

Chad grunted.

Connie reached out to touch his hand, and he instantly pulled away. "But she cares about you. A lot. We all want to see you through this thing in whatever way we can. Now I don't mean this in a threatening way at all, but if you don't do this, you will just end up in another foster home. You may even end up in a different city. I think that putting you with another family you don't even know would be working against your progress. You and Sonny work and go to school at the same studio, and I think that factor will help ease you into the transition. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but Sonny and I are committed to helping you resolve this situation."

There was a pause as Chad absorbed the information he was just offered.

"This situation?" he finally asked. "Why do people keep talking like that? I don't even know what you all are expecting from me. My court date is weeks away. What do I do other than wait for my punishment? I don't get it," he finally admitted, throwing his hands up.

Glad that he was at least speaking rationally now, Connie offered Chad a weak smile. "Chad, under-aged drinking is a very serious issue. The fact that you were involved in an drunk driving accident has really sent up a red flag. Now, like I said, I'm not here to condemn you; I'm just trying to help you use every available resource at your disposal. There's a chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous that meet every week, and they're specifically geared towards helping teenagers-"

"I am _not _an alcoholic! Okay?" Chad angrily interrupted. "My idiot friend decided to get drunk and drive us to some stupid party. How in the hell is that my fault, huh? Now he's dead, and everyone's blaming me for what he did. "

Connie took a deep breath, remembering that Chad was most likely still in the denial stage of his alcoholism, and that she needed to work on getting him home before addressing that particular issue.

"We're going to take this one day at a time, Chad," Connie finally said. "We want to help you move past this whole incident, but we need your help to do that. Your first move is to let Sonny and I welcome you into our home. Do you think you can handle that?"

Chad thought for a moment, his brows knit together. It seemed that he hadn't any choice in the matter, so what was the point in even asking his opinion? This was all being forced upon him. Chad was perfectly capable of caring for himself, but there was no convincing these people of that.

"Fine" he finally spat. "But I'm not going to any AA meetings."

**II.**

"I'll let Sonny help you get your things," Connie Munroe said once they had pulled up in front of the Cooper mansion. "You can bring whatever you like—as long as I can fit it in our small apartment that is," she added with a chuckle.

Chad scowled in displeasure as Sonny quickly circled around the car to help him out. He held his hand up to stop her when she went to help him, instead taking his crutches and clumsily exiting the vehicle himself. "I'm not a baby, okay?" he said. "I may have a broken leg, but I don't need you holding my hand every time I have to move."

"Fine."

"_Fine_."

"Good."

"_Good_."

Sonny was amazed by the size of the Cooper mansion, gasping as they entered the immaculate foyer of Chad's home. The ceilings reached up three levels, and the matching spiral marble staircases on each side of the room gleamed in the sunlight. His home was intricately decorated—no corner had been spared of the elaborate paintings and sculptures that were scattered throughout the house.

"Stay here," Chad instructed her. "I don't need you packing my tighty whities for me," he said as he started up the stairs. "And don't touch anything!"

Sonny stood next to the door, anxiously watching as Chad managed to scale the spiral staircase on crutches. She winced a few times when she was sure he was about to take a tumble, but miraculously, he made it to the top.

"You're sure you don't want me to carry your bags for you?" Sonny called up the stairs.

"I'd tell you if I needed your help, _Random_," Chad spat back from the other room.

Sonny stood with her hands in the pockets of her jeans, waiting impatiently as she tried not to touch one of the many expensive items within her reach. Looking around, she assumed that Chad's parents must enjoy antiquing. Many of the things that decorated the room looked exotic, hinting that maybe his parents traveled a lot. Maybe they were in a different country right now, and that's why no one could find them.

Maybe it had been years since Chad had even seen them.

The whole idea of Chad living by himself for so long was making Sonny depressed, so she began to pace. That's when she noticed something poking out of the top of one of the planters next to the door. She frowned curiously, reaching to pull out a half-empty bottle of tequila. It didn't take her long to figure out _who _had stashed it there. There was no denying it now—Chad Dylan Cooper most definitely had a drinking problem.

"Sonny!"

His voice called her loudly enough that she quickly dropped the bottle back down into the potful of soil before scaling the spiral stairs at lightening speed. She followed the direction of the light pouring out of one of the many rooms at the top of the staircase. Worrying that maybe Chad had finally taken a fall, she bolted through the doorway.

Luckily, Chad wasn't lying on the floor writhing in pain, but merely sitting quietly in one of the beanbag chairs in his room. His crutches had been thrown the the floor, and an opened bag stuffed with various articles of clothing was sitting out in front of him.

"Are you okay?" she asked him breathlessly.

He paused uncomfortably. "I, uh, I can't get back up," he admitted, a small rosy tint overtaking his cheeks. Sonny tried not to smile too brightly as she moved to help him, knowing how hard it had been for him to ask her for help in the first place.

Sonny took his hands into her own, attempting to pull him from his seat, though she only managed to scoot him off the chair and onto the floor. After many more unsuccessful tries, Sonny finally stood back with her hands on her hips as she assessed the situation.

"Shit," Chad said.

"Maybe my mom can help."

He sighed. "Just leave me here. You can have meals sent in or something." There was a hint of humor in his sparkling blue eyes, causing Sonny to grin down at him.

"There's too much distance between us," Sonny finally said, and he looked up at her curiously. "Your arms are too long," she explained. "I'll just..." she trailed off, a strange look crossing her face as she knelt down and wrapped her arms tightly around his chest, biting her lip with uncertainty. The move caused Chad to tense somewhat at Sonny's actions. The feeling of her arms encircling him and her soft breath on his face caused a strange sensation to shoot through his body and his skin to break out in goosebumps. Sure, he'd held girls before—plenty of them—but the way that her innocent brown eyes met with his as their bodies pressed so closely together was enough to make him almost melt. "On the count of three, okay?" she asked Chad as he reached back to brace the the floor beneath him with his hands.

"One..."

"Two..."

"Three!" And with a quick tug and a heave, the boy was at a stand once again, holding onto Sonny tightly as he tried to balance himself on his one good leg. Sonny quickly moved to grab his crutches as he still held her shoulder for support, noticing when he winced a bit as he moved the crutches back under his arms.

"Are you okay? Did I hurt you?'

"You, hurt me? Pfft." Scoffing, he shook his head.

"Good," she said with a simper, zipping up his bag and throwing it over her shoulder. "Then I can 'not hurt you' back down the stairs."

Slowly, the two made it back down to the first floor of the mansion, Chad scowling begrudgingly whenever Sonny moved to help him. Finally, he allowed himself to swallow his pride as the petite Random kept him from taking a tumble when he managed to catch the bottom of his crutch on one of the steps.

"You okay?" she asked him again once she had managed to steady him on the stairs by bracing his shoulder.

Feeling warmth radiate from her touch, he nodded.

**III.**

"So, this will be your room while your here," Sonny explained as she led Chad into the small room at the back of her apartment. He frowned in distaste as he studied all of the girly things that surrounded him—fuzzy Muppet pelts for blankets, cheesy porcelain figurines, a bright floral print spread on the tiny twin-sized bed, and various posters of male teenaged celebrities (none of him, he noticed with a frown).

"Are you serious?" he asked with distaste. "This is one fugly guest room."

His comment seemed to anger Sonny, and her mouth turned down into a frown. "Chad, we don't have a guest room. This is _my _room."

"In that case, I don't think the bed is big enough for the both of us," he pondered, his statement causing Sonny to blush.

"I'm staying in my mom's room while you're here," she said with an eye roll. "She said that you needed your privacy while you were here. _I_ wanted to put you on the couch, but apparently that's not allowed."

"Geeze, you and your mom must be awful close," Chad commented as he plopped himself down onto her bed.

"We are," Sonny stated matter-of-factly, brushing off his comment.

Chad's brows drew together as they stared at one another for a moment, the sound of Sonny's phone ringing finally cutting through the silence in the room. "Uh...I'll be right back," she said as she checked her caller ID.

"Don't hurry," he insisted as the girl shut the door behind her.

"Hey, babe. You up for a little Italian tonight?" Cory asked her through the phone.

Sonny closed her eyes when she remembered what her mom had told her that morning - "You _will not_ leave this house tonight. Chad is our guest, and you need to be here to make him feel welcome."

Well, Sonny expected that much, but she could only ponder whether or not Cory would be very understanding of this whole situation. If he was upset about Sonny visiting Chad after his accident, how badly would be blow up when he found out the star was staying at her apartment?

"Cory, I'm so sorry, but Mom said I couldn't go out tonight," she apologized, deciding to step around the issue at hand.

"Come on, Sonny! I got reservations and everything."

Sonny took a deep breath. "I know, but I have some things to take care of tonight. Maybe this weekend, alright?"

"You're still mad at me," he said, disappointment evident in his voice.

"I'm not mad at you!"

"Then why are you doing this, Sonny? I just want to make amends with you."

"I-I just can't, okay?"

There was a strange pause, and she could tell that Cory was breathing hard, probably trying to settle himself before he spoke again. "What's going on over there?"

"Nothing!" Sonny quickly exclaimed, wanting to stop whatever implication was coming her way. "We have a house guest—that's all. Mom took in a foster kid today."

"Well, why didn't you just tell me that? I thought you had a guy over there or something."

Sonny didn't say anything as she stared at the closed door of her bedroom.

"Well maybe I'll just come over and introduce myself-"

"NO!" Sonny quickly exclaimed, her eyes widening at that very thought. "I mean, foster kids are usually pretty bashful their first night. Why don't you give him a little time to settle in first?"

"Poor lil guy," Cory said with a sigh. "Well," he began, still sounding a bit angry, "maybe we can hit the beach this weekend." 

"That sounds great, Cory," Sonny said with a satisfied smile, glad she had gotten him to drop the subject for the night. This was definitely something she was going to have to ease him into the idea of.

**IV.**

Soon dinnertime came and Connie busied herself with preparing a meal suitable for a celebrity millionaire while Sonny set the table with the nicest dishes their family owned. Meanwhile, Chad had shut himself in Sonny's room the entire afternoon, lying back on her bed as he stared up at the ceiling. Awkward didn't even begin to describe how he felt being taken in by the Munroes. Chad Dylan Cooper was supposed to be invincible, but this whole ordeal had just shown everyone how weak he was capable of being. Now he just felt like some underprivileged little boy in dyer need of a hug.

"Chad?" Sonny asked once she had cracked the door open a bit. "Dinner's ready."

His arms crossed behind his head, and his cast propped up on a pillow, Chad struggled to get himself up. He didn't scowl or complain when Sonny moved to help him this time, knowing good and well he needed it and that he'd better keep his mouth shut if he expected any more help from her in the future.

Chad eased himself into a seat at the kitchen table as Connie served up meatloaf, mashed potatoes, tossed salad, and green beans. He wrinkled up his nose at the meal, trying not to make it too obvious that he usually ordered in pizza or microwaved something and had not had a good home-cooked meal since he grandma last hosted Thanksgiving dinner for his family.

"Can I get you anything else, Chad?" Connie asked him and he shook his head. "Oh Chad, sweetie, I almost forgot about your pain meds," she quickly added, retrieving his prescription and pouring a couple of pills out into Chad's hand. "You're better off taking them with a meal so they don't upset your stomach."

Chad could only stare at the balanced meal in front of him, his pain pills still clutched tightly in his fist. He knew this was the way a normal family _probably_ acted, but there was something about the fact that Mrs. Munroe had cooked this meal especially for him and the way that she fussed over his pain medication that made him feel so unworthy. The idea of someone taking their time to make him comfortable was so strange and foreign to him, and he wasn't sure how to handle it. His stomach growled at the mere smell of the food in front of him; but somehow, Chad just couldn't bring himself to eat it. His eyes burning, he finally pushed the plate away from himself.

"I, uh, I'm not really hungry," he finally managed as Connie and Sonny stared back at him curiously. "I'm really tired. I think I'll just go back to bed."

Neither Munroe spoke a word as the blonde actor eased himself up from his chair, retreating back to Sonny's room and shutting the door behind him.

Chad lie in his comfortable bed with clean sheets that night, pictures of random members of the Munroe family smiling at him from their frames on Sonny's desk. He listened to Sonny and her mother talk over their dinner as they gave minute details about how their week had went, feeling a pang of jealousy.

"Good night, Mom," he heard Sonny tell her mother before Connie had retired for the night. "I love you."

"Love you too, sweetie."

Chad stared restlessly at the ceiling of Sonny's bedroom that night. He wasn't quite sure why the Munroes were so eager to go out of their way to help him, but he was pretty certain that he didn't deserve any of it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Bad Company**

**Chapter 5; Part I.**

Having Chad Dylan Cooper under her roof turned out to be quite a bit more challenging than Sonny had ever expected. The first reason for this was that, well, they never really did get along in the first place. Secondly, Chad was still quite a bit angry with her for causing their forced co-habitation. And the third? The third reason was quite simply that Chad was a jerk.

Chad's car accident didn't really appear to change his demeanor too much, except for perhaps making him a bit more broody. Today, being the first day that the two were left alone without Connie to buffer the tension between them, proved to be the worst for Chad and Sonny.

As appreciative as Chad _should_ have been for the Munroes taking him in, preparing him special meals, and even letting him make Sonny's room his own, he certainly didn't seem that thankful at all.

Sonny was more than a little peeved when Chad had, very rudely, turned his nose up at every dish Connie had prepared for him. Her mother insisted that it was fine, that maybe Chad wasn't used to eating Midwestern favorites like pot roast, tater tot casserole, and meat loaf. But the fact that the boy came up with an excuse every night not to eat dinner when her mother had been trying her best to please him definitely did not sit well with Sonny at all.

"Seriously, Mom," Sonny complained one evening when she helped to clean the table and put away the leftovers. "You are putting all of this effort into preparing dinner for him, and he won't even try the food!"

"Shh," Connie warned. "You know these walls are as thin as paper. You're going to hurt his feelings."

"What about _your_ feelings?" she asked her mother, but Connie merely brushed off Chad's rudeness as adjusting to his new home.

Even though today Sonny was told she would have to make sure and stay at home so Chad wasn't left by himself (although Chad wasn't to be filled in on that little bit of information), Sonny decided that she would not let the drama snob get to her. Of course, that's before the whole 'incident' occurred.

There had definitely been a breech in Sonny's privacy that week. Having a boy—one who could easily be thought of as an enemy—living in your room with all of your most personal possessions was indeed a nightmare. That morning she had even caught Chad reading her journal, which would have angered her more had it not been for the fact that she hadn't written in it since age nine.

"You used to have a massive crush on Aaron Carter?" he asked with a smirk as she ripped the book from his hands.

"That's personal."

"Well, you left it out in the open for me to find," Chad retorted. "You can't really blame me now, can you?"

"It was in the drawer. Of _my desk._"

But that particular altercation was not what took the cake. The incident that further deepened the rift between the two had happened that afternoon when Sonny had gone into her room to change out of her 'laundry day clothes' while Chad was watching Hoosier Girl (his reasons for this questionable, considering he seemed to criticize the actors, the script, and the setting throughout the entire one-hour show). It seemed like a particularly safe time for Sonny to take her time in her room hanging up freshly dried garments and deciding what to wear for the rest of the day. She had slipped out of her sweats and ratty t-shirt and was moving about the room in her bra and panties, holding different outfits up as she studied herself in the mirror when the door abruptly popped open.

"Hey!" she suddenly exclaimed, trying to shield herself from actor's stare.

Chad stood in the doorway, propped up on his crutches and looking positively shocked.

"I uh..." he began, the color draining from his face as he tried to quickly turn around and break his intent gaze on the half-naked comedian. However, the maneuver resulted in Chad tripping over his crutch and falling roughly to the hardwood floor beneath him.

"_Oof_."

Sonny's face still flush with embarrassment, she made for the door, slamming it loudly before quickly pulling on the pair of jeans and a t-shirt which lie on her bed. _I cannot believe that just happened,_ she thought to herself before racing out into the hallway to find that Chad was still sprawled out on the floor, gripping his leg in pain.

She quickly sunk down to her knees, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Oh my God, that looked really bad."

"If you tell anyone this happened, I'll-"

"_Me _tell anyone about this? You just saw me in my underwear!"

"Yeah? Well, I just face-planted the floor!" he quickly retorted, both teens still blushing furiously. "Besides, I, uh, didn't really see anything anyways."

"How could you _not _have?"

Chad pressed his lips together thoughtfully. "Okay, I saw everything," he finally admitted. "I was just lying to make you feel better."

Sonny groaned in embarrassment, burying her face into her hands before deciding to put her humiliation aside long enough to make sure Chad was okay. "Do you think you aggravated any injuries?" she asked him as she checked his cast and forehead.

"I'm _fine_..." he insisted, putting a stop to her first aid efforts.

Sonny's face still red, she shook her head at the boy. "You know, I should just leave you on this floor. Who goes into a girl's room without knocking anyways?"

"It's my room now, remember? You're rooming with your _mommy_."

"Well, at least my mommy gives a crap about me!" The room went deathly silent and Sonny knew she had gone to far. Chad's gazed fixed the floor in shock of hearing the bitter words spew from the mouth of a usually sweet girl.

"You don't even know my parents, okay?" he finally said in a dangerously low voice, anger evident in his tone.

Sonny bit her lip, feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt. "Chad..." she began, moving to help him.

"Don't touch me," he said as he pulled his arm from her grasp. "I don't need your damn help. Just leave me here; you want to anyways."

"I can't do that, and you know it," Sonny said, but Chad ducked away from her grasp once again.

"I know you don't want me here. Your mom makes you pretend like you do, but I know you hate that I'm here just as much as I hate _being_ here, so let's stop pretending, okay?" he said, his eyes burning with intense anger. "If I had any say in it, I'd leave. But I know once I do, I'll be in a shitload of trouble. So from now on, I say we avoid one another until I can get the hell out of here, and you can go on with your perfect little life. Okay?"

Biting her lip, Sonny stared back at the boy on the floor.

"That's what I thought," he said, pushing himself up enough to grasp a crutch. Sonny watched uncomfortably as Chad tried time and time again to get himself up off of the floor. Unfortunately, the combination of his cast and the slippery, newly-polished floor prevented him from doing so, and he collapsed against the wall in defeat before throwing his crutches angrily across the room and leaning his head back against the wall with closed eyes.

Luckily, it was at that time that Connie returned from work, absolutely horrified at the scene taking place in front of her.

"You just left him there?" she asked Sonny angrily once she had helped Chad into his bed and made sure he was okay before suggesting he should get some rest. "The boy is on crutches, and you leave him on the floor to fend for himself?"

"Mom, I didn't-"

Her mother quickly waved her hand dismissively. "I already know what you're going to say, Sonny. I know that you and Chad don't always get along," her mother finally said in a low voice. "But the thing is that you are going to have to be uncharacteristically kind to him over the next few weeks. You have to put yourself in his shoes. How would you feel if you were Chad? You're parents are missing, and you're being forced into foster care. Do you think you might harbor some anger towards the ones who are meddling in your life, even if it is with the best of intentions?"

Sonny sighed.

"I'm not asking you to kiss his shoes, Sonny. I just want you to have a little more understanding why he might not be the happiest camper right now."

"But mom, he is so incredibly rude!"

"Alison Munroe, while Chad is in our home, you are to treat him like a member of the family. You got that?" Connie warned her. "You have a mother who loves and who would do anything for you, and it's pretty obvious that Chad has been on his own for awhile now. You need to realize how well you have it."

"_Fine_."

**II.**

Sonny had finally decided to apologize to Chad that evening before dinner after he'd spent the past few hours shut up in her room. Not that he really _deserved _an apology, but she did want to appease her mother. She tried to remind herself to be overly nice to Chad and not blow up at him for the little remarks he seemed to enjoy making so much.

But, while his usual retorts were just to get under her skin, Sonny couldn't help but to remember how hurt he looked sitting on the floor by himself and refusing to let her help him. Maybe she _had_ hurt his feelings? Then again, that would require him to actually _have_ feelings, and quite honestly, Sonny was starting to doubt that.

Sonny knocked softly on the door to her own bedroom.

"Go away."

"Chad, we need to talk, okay?" Sonny asked through the door, Chad not bothering to answer her. "Can I just come in for a minute?"

"It's _your _room," he remarked.

The brunette took a long, deep breath before opening the door. Chad was sitting on the edge of the bed, reading _'Tween Weekly _and looking a bit depressed. He didn't bother to look up at her as she stood across from him, staring down at the boy.

"Look, I'm sorry about earlier."

"Whatever."

Sonny sighed. Knowing that her apology wouldn't be enough to please her mother, she walked towards the blonde-haired actor, taking the magazine from his hands and throwing it to the side. "Will you just stop doing this?"

"Stop doing what?"

"Sitting in this room and acting like you don't give a crap, Chad!" Sonny began. "You're so...so...dead inside! I come in here to apologize to you when we both know good and well that you don't deserve one, and you can't even acknowledge it. My mom and I have gone out on a limb taking you in like this, and you don't appreciate any of it."

"Hey, I didn't ask for any of this," he said, scowling with disgust. "You really think I wanted to come here and mooch of you middle-class nobodies?" he began. "I own a _mansion_. My bedroom's bigger than your entire apartment, and my jacket cost more than your car, so stop acting like you're doing this huge favor to me by bringing me to this living hell!"

Sonny's mouth dropped open in disbelief. The ungrateful snob _still _thought he was better than her, even after everything she and her mother had done for him. She wanted so badly to slap him—to put him in his place, but remembered what her mother had said about being overly-understanding. "_Anyways_," Sonny said, taking another deep breath. "I'm sorry for the cheap shot at your parents this afternoon."

"I thought you said that I didn't deserve an apology?" he asked with a frown.

She shrugged. "You don't," she said, leaving the room and closing the door loudly behind her.

**III.**

Sonny didn't see anymore of Chad that evening. He'd shut himself back in her bedroom and had refused to come out, even for dinner. Not that he would've eaten it anyway, she reminded herself. It seemed that this whole thing was just not working out, but it wasn't as if she hadn't warned her mom of that in the first place.

Meanwhile, Chad lie back in Sonny's bed, pretending it was his own and that he was back in his mansion, completely alone. It was a hard thing to do with the smells of dinner wafting into his room and the happy chatter of mother and daughter. Hours later, when all of the lights in the apartment had gone out and everything was peaceful and quiet, Chad tried to ignore the painful throb in his leg and the rumble of his stomach.

Wanting to avoid both of the Munroe women completely, he'd opted against dinner and his pain medication that night. And, much like the nights before, the continuous growling of his stomach kept him awake. Finally, once he was certain that both females were fast asleep, Chad decided that it was most likely safe to creep into the kitchen for his midnight snack.

He hobbled through the living room and into the kitchen, leaning against his crutches as he swung open the refrigerator door to peer in at the various assortment of leftovers inside. As good as it smelled, Chad guiltily opted against Mrs. Munroe's fried chicken and picked out a package of salami and some cheese slices.

"Hungry?" a voice suddenly asked behind him, and Chad quickly stood up, smacking his head on the roof of the fridge in the process. Connie Munroe stood behind him with her arms crossed as he reached up to sorely rub his sore skull.

"I, uh, was..."

Connie smiled as she took the food from his hands, ushering him to sit down. "Why don't I heat up the leftovers for you? I think you can do a lot better than salami and processed cheese."

Chad nodded, sitting back in his chair a bit.

"You know, you don't have to sneak in here at night to eat dinner, Chad," Connie said as she dished out a little bit of each leftover onto a plate before sticking it into a microwave. "I want you to feel welcome here. You can help yourself to anything in the kitchen that you like, day _or _night. Except for Sonny's Wisconsin cheddar of course. If you eat her mail order cheese, she might have your head on a stick."

Connie sat down across from him as the microwave warmed his food, resting her chin on the palm of her hand and studying the boy. "Something tells me you don't feel comfortable here, Chad. I would really like to change that."

Chad shifted slightly in his chair before speaking. "I guess I'm just not used to this," he finally said, a bit ill at ease.

"What's that?"

"The special treatment and the family dinners."

Connie smiled brightly as she put her hand on his. "Your family doesn't sit down to eat together?" she asked him.

He shrugged.

"I don't want to force you to tell me about them, but I want you to know that I'm here whenever you feel like maybe you wanna talk about your parents," she said as he looked away. "And don't worry about receiving any special kind of treatment from me. I'm not treating you any differently than I do my own daughter. I don't want you to feel awkward sitting down to eat with us, but if it makes you feel that uncomfortable, maybe we can work something out."

Soon the microwave beeped and Chad began to dig hungrily into his meal. Connie poured out a couple of pain pills and left them next to his plate before leaving. "Good night, Chad. Enjoy your meal," she added with a smile before standing up to leave.

"Mrs. Munroe," Chad said softly before she exited the door, causing her to turn back and look at him. "Uh...thanks."

And with another warm smile, Connie nodded before heading back to bed.

**X**

Since a reviewer asked, yes, this fic will remain T-rated. As much as I enjoyed writing a mature fic, I had a lot of readers comment to me that they enjoyed the storyline of _Sometimes Always,_ but opted for skipping over the M scenes . So...I'm basically writing this with those readers in mind. But fear not, the gears in my head are already turning with another M-rated fic in mind.


	6. Chapter 6

**Bad Company**

**Chapter 6; Part I.**

Chad woke with a start, realizing he was not in his usual sleeping place. It was pitch black, and his eyes struggled against the cold darkness as they began to slowly adjust the lack of light. His body was sore, pain radiating throughout every extremity. He could feel the torn, leather upholstery under his skin and hear the almost silent sound of a muffled radio playing close by. Confused, he reached out to touch his surroundings. When he felt the sharp, raw edge of twisted metal and shattered glass, he quickly pulled his hand back as it sliced through his index finger. Chad found his environment to be frightening, yet strangely familiar, and that's when he realized _exactly_ where he was.

Instead of lying in his soft, cozy bed, Chad was wedged into the passenger-side seat of a crunched up classic sports car. It was at that instant he realized that he was bleeding profusely, his clothing heavy and soaked with his blood. He looked down, gasping when when he saw the bone in his leg protruding through his skin and tiny shards of glass embedded in his chest and forearms. He was slowly bleeding to death, and with no one around, Chad would most certainly die there alone. Panicking, he began to struggle desperately with the tight strap of his seat belt which lie tightly across his lap, keeping him from escaping, but to no avail. He was pinned in the wreckage, the music which emitted from the car's speakers continuing to play as his chest began to constrict, his breathing becoming more and more ragged.

"_You killed me_," an eerie and strained voice stated from beside him.

Chad quickly turned his head to meet the zombie-like gaze of his dead friend. Drake was covered in blood, a deep gash across his shoulder that poured of the crimson liquid. Chad's mouth went agape and he stared into the empty eyes of his former friend as he began to tremble in fear.

"_It's all your fault_."

_**ooo**_

Chad bolted upright in the bed, his hands reaching out to touch the soft, floral sheets beneath him. Tears stung his eyes when he realized that he'd had _the dream _again—the same dream that haunted him almost every night. The boy quickly sat up, swinging is legs over to the side of the bed and taking a deep breath as he stared out the window at the full moon high in the nighttime sky.

It had been two weeks since Drake had died, and Chad was finding that each day was more difficult for him to bear than the one before it. It was hard for him to wake up to a warm bed, sunshine pouring through the sheer curtains of Sonny's bedroom, and birds chirping outside each morning, while realizing that his friend was cold, dead, and buried in the ground.

It was especially hard knowing that he was the one to blame for Drake's death.

Chad couldn't take it anymore. He was slowly falling apart at the seams, and he knew it. He hated being some charity case to the Munroes. He hated that Sonny loathed him for being there. He hated that his parents didn't care enough to flee back home when his much televised deadly car accident became common knowledge across the country. He hated that he had ruined his entire public imagine in one night, even if it did—by some strange twist of fate—help improve Mac Fall's ratings.

And, more than anything, Chad hated knowing that he was the reason his only friend was now dead. Because if he would've just stayed home that night, instead of insisting Drake drive them to that party, the accident would've never happened, and everything would be the way it was supposed to be.

Grabbing his crutches and standing himself up, Chad shakily made for the kitchen to begin his search for something—anything—that would ease the pain.

He searched the fridge: Nothing

He searched through the cabinets: Zilch.

He searched below the island which sat in the middle of the kitchen: Nada.

Chad picked up the empty wine rack on Mrs. Munroe's counter top, angrily tossing it to the side. Finally, he began to check the small broom closet in the corner, digging desperately behind the bottles of cleaners and boxes of trash bags. That's when it caught his eye—a partially empty bottle of cooking wine that was covered in dust and looked as if it had been sitting there for awhile. A feeling of relief washed over him until he heard the footsteps of someone approaching the kitchen door, and he quickly stashed the bottle back into the closet.

"What _are _you doing?" Sonny asked incredulously, standing in her pj's and a pair of fuzzy cow slippers with her hands on her hips. "I could hear you thrashing around all the way from my mom's room."

Her eyes met his guilty ones, and he took a second to mentally construct some sort of believable excuse as to why he was going through their things at three in the morning. Connie's wine rack sat tossed on the floor, the cabinets of the kitchen were in complete disorder, and the refrigerator door was still standing open.

"I was looking for...a waffle iron." It was a stupid excuse—Chad had never used a waffle iron in his life.

Sonny frowned. "A waffle iron? Really, Chad?"

"Yes. Really."

Sonny looked at him incredulously, narrowing her eyes. "Whatever. Just clean this mess up and keep it down, okay?" she said, rolling her eyes before returning to bed.

Chad sneaked the bottle back out of the closet, deciding to stash it away beneath Sonny's bed until the opportune moment. It had been a long time since he'd had something to ease his nerves, and right now Chad would give anything to drive away his reoccurring nightmare.

**II.**

"God, I've missed you so much," Cory said when Sonny met him that morning in front of their favorite cafe, giving her a long, needful kiss before pulling her against his chest.

"I know. I'm sorry we had to wait this long before doing this; I've had a lot of stuff going on at home."

"Right. How's the little foster kid?"

"He's...good," Sonny said guiltily. She still hadn't revealed that Chad, in fact, was their new 'foster kid.' She had been wanting to wait until the right moment to tell Cory the truth, but to be honest, there didn't seem to be one. Cory had always been a bit weary of Chad and the rumors that surrounded their supposed crushes on one another. Sonny knew there was no truth behind the allegations, but trying to convince her boyfriend of that was no easy task.

"Adjusting well to his new home?"

Sonny nodded while pondering his question. Sonny had spent the past few days stuck in her tiny apartment keeping a watchful eye on Chad for her mother, and he didn't seem to be taking the transition well at all. He was grouchy, agitated, and downright depressed most of the day. Their little spat seemed to worsen his condition even more, and Sonny had begun to wonder if Chad would ever get over not being able to live the carefree superstar life he had been so used to.

Despite all of their time together, Chad and Sonny rarely talked. That spoke to one another when necessary, but they never _really _discussed what he was going through in detail. Chad never mentioned his parents, what had happened the night of his accident, or even how he was feeling. If anything, he seemed detached from reality, spending his days reading 'Tween Weekly or watching television. The more time Sonny spent with him, the more she realized that Chad was numbing himself to everything and everyone around him.

Her mother had noticed, too, as did his social worker. But it seemed that Chad was very unwilling to discuss his situation. Maybe he was ashamed, or maybe he just didn't give a crap. Chad had always tried to act like nothing bothered him, but it was hard to imagine everything that had happened to the boy over the past couple of weeks not getting to him. Sonny knew that if she were in Chad's place, she'd be on the verge of a complete emotional breakdown by now.

"I think it's great what you and your mom are doing for this little guy," Cory said with a smile, swinging his arm over Sonny's shoulders. "I don't know if I'd be able to handle taking in some strange kid with family problems. I'd probably just make things worse for him," he added with a chuckle, causing Sonny to duck her head.

"Let's order some coffee, shall we?" she asked him, just wanting to get her mind off the subject.

**III.**

"You'll do fine, Chad," Connie tried to convince the boy as they sat outside the drug and alcohol abuse treatment facility. "It's just a one-hour meeting, and there will be a lot of people your age there."

How Mrs. Munroe had roped him into teenage substance abuse meetings was beyond him. He had reluctantly agreed to give it a try when she had reminded him that such meetings would probably be a mandatory part of his sentence, and that he should think about getting them out of the way as soon as possible.

Chad knew he didn't have a problem, but he found himself wanting to please Connie nonetheless. The woman had grown on him a bit over the past few days, and Chad found it interesting how much she seemed to really care about what was going to happen to him. Chad had never had an adult take such an avid interest in his life, save maybe his overly-nosy producer.

"I'm not an alcoholic," Chad reminded her, and Connie clasped her hand on his shoulder. "I'm only doing this because you wanted me to," he added solemnly.

She smiled. "I thank you for that, Chad. But I'm not doing this so that I can label you as an alcoholic; I'm doing this because I can tell you've been having a tough time lately, and I think talking about what happened with people who can relate will help you."

Chad sighed as he stared at a couple of teenage boys walk into the building. "They're all going to know who I am and what I did anyways. I guess there goes the anonymous part."

"This will work in you favor, Chad," Connie insisted. "Once the judge sees that you're confronting your problem, he'll be a lot more lenient towards your punishment."

Closing his eyes, Chad took a deep breath before exiting the car and walking into the facility. He hoped Mrs. Munroe was right about all of this...

Fifteen minutes later, Chad awkwardly took a seat in the back of the room, sinking down in his chair and hoping that no one recognized him. There were about 30 people there, kids ranging anywhere from age 13 to 19, some alcoholics and others facing other types of addictions. Chad spaced out when a boy spoke about his alcohol-induced run-ins with the law, holding up some gold coin signifying his 18th month of sobriety.

There were a lot of sob stories being told—kids who'd been kicked out of their parents home, who'd suffered alcohol poisoning or alcohol withdrawals, and others who were struggling to put their lives back on track. Chad found it hard to connect with anyone who spoke. Sure, he liked to drink, maybe more than what was ideal, but it wasn't as if he were unable to function. He'd managed to hold down his demanding role at Mackenzie Falls, and he wasn't shaking or having seizures or going through any of the horrible symptoms that go along with alcohol withdrawal syndrome.

"You in the back. You're new here, right?" The leader, a man in his mid-30's, motioned towards him. "How about you come up and introduce yourself?"

Chad nervously sat up. He'd honestly hoped he'd get through this thing without anyone even noticing he was there, but he was the last one in the room who hadn't taken to the podium to tell their story. He didn't exactly want to make it apparent who he was, and having everyone's attention turned to him as he spoke would undoubtedly accomplish that. Once Chad Dylan Cooper had been recognized among a group of pathetic addicts, there went whatever was left of his public image.

Chad furiously shook his head, lowering his gaze to the floor and hoping no one realized who he was.

"Don't be shy," the man said. "We're all here for the same reasons. No one will judge you."

"I'm good."

And with that, the question was dropped. But that didn't prevent the room from breaking out into curious whispers—"_Hey, isn't that the guy from that 'tween show_?"Groaning, Chad closed his eyes and began counting down the minutes before his moment in hell was over with. Of course, once the meeting was dismissed, it didn't stop people from coming up to him, asking why he was there, and wanting to take their pictures with him. Unfortunately, politely refusing didn't stop anyone from bothering him.

And the worst part was that Chad was certain he'd be hearing about his alcohol addiction on TMZ tonight.

**III.**

"When's your mom gonna be home?" Cory asked Sonny as they lie in her bed together, his arm resting under her neck and his other draped lazily across her stomach. It was the late afternoon, and she and Cory had decided to hang out at her apartment for awhile, seeing as there was no one there to bother them and they both were feeling a bit fatigued from running around all day.

After a cup of coffee, catching a silent movie at the art theater, and visiting the observatory followed by a long walk through the park, they were both more than ready for some downtime at Sonny's apartment after their long bus ride home.

"I dunno. She said she'd be out all afternoon, so probably not 'till dinnertime."

With a devious grin, the boy pulled Sonny closely to his chest, their lips lingering together before the brunette pulled away with a sigh. His hand traveled down to the small of her back, playing with the hem of her t-shirt.

"I wanna be with you," he whispered into her ear, causing Sonny to giggle.

"You _are _with me, silly."

"That's not what I meant," Cory said, bringing his finger up under her chin, and Sonny could feel his warm breath on her neck. "We've been dating for awhile now."

He felt the girl tense somewhat in his arms. "It's only been a couple of months."

"It feels like years," he said, and she smiled.

"Is that a good thing?"

"Mmm hmm. I feel like we know each other so well, you know? Like we couldn't possibly be more connected. I guess that's what being in love is supposed to feel like."

Sonny blushed, and she offered Cory a small smile. "Y-You really love me?"

"I'm sorry, I guess I didn't admit that in the most romantic way-"

"No, it was perfect," Sonny insisted. "I-I love you, too."

Cory brought his hand up to the side of Sonny's face, his eyes closing as he kissed her passionately, pulling her more closely into the curve of his body. He slowly brought his hands down to her waist, as their lips moved softly together. Slowly, they began to trail up her back, underneath the thin material of her shirt, and across the bare skin of her back...

Sonny broke the kiss suddenly, grabbing his arm and pulling it away.

"What's wrong?"

"I just..." Sonny began. "It's too much," she timidly admitted.

Letting out a small sigh, Cory pulled her closely against him once again. "I love you more than anything. You know that?"

"I know, I just..." Sonny stumbled, still blushing.

"It's okay," Cory insisted, running his hand through her long, dark hair.

"Really?"

"You're not ready, and I respect that. When the time does come, I don't want you to feel pressured. It will just come naturally, okay?"

Nodding, Sonny smiled.

Soon the sound of keys unlocking the front door was heard, and Sonny sat up nervously.

"Is that your mom?"

She nodded, grimacing when she realized who else would be with her.

"Will she be mad that I'm in here?"

Sonny shook her head. "No, she trusts me. It's just-"

"Sonny, are you home?" her mother called before the sound of a pair of crutches moving across the floor neared her bedroom, and Sonny began to panic.

"Listen, there's something I have to explain to you, Cory."

There was a soft knock on the door before Chad stuck his head in, looking a little uncomfortable to see the couple lying so intimately in Sonny's bed together. Frowning, he edged around the door to reach for the magazine that lie on top her dresser. "Don't mind me, I just came to grab something I left in here earlier," Chad said, not bothering to look up. Cory's eyes turned dark as the blonde-haired actor shut the door behind himself. Cory suddenly released Sonny from his arms, quickly sitting up.

"What is Chad Dylan Cooper doing here? And why would he be leaving his stuff in your room?"

"Cory, I wanted to tell you-"

"You know what? I really don't want to hear it," the boy replied, slipping his shoes back on and briskly walking out of the room. Sonny quickly bolted after him. Chad looked up at her curiously from the sofa as she scurried out of their apartment and into the hallway.

"I come here and confess my _love _for you, only to find out you've been cheating on me!"

"I am not cheating!"

"Oh yeah? Then what is Cooper doing here? And why would he be helping himself to your room? Huh?"

"He's our foster kid," Sonny quickly mumbled in a low voice, grimacing.

"Excuse me? What was that?" Cory asked, raising his eyebrows. "Chad is the 'little boy' who's been living with you for the past two weeks?" He threw his hands up in annoyance before quickly beginning to walk away.

"His parents are missing," Sonny quickly explained, causing Cory to turn around to meet her guilty stare. "DCFS wouldn't let him return home to live by himself, so my mother took him in. I didn't want him here! _Nothing _is going on—I swear!"

"Yeah? Well I'd like to believe you, but your history with this guy tells me otherwise."

Sonny could feel her eyes begin to tear. "Why can't you trust me?"

"Because you have to look at this from my perspective, Sonny: The guy who everyone thinks you have something going on with is _sleeping in your bed_."

"I'm staying in my mom's room. It's not as if were sleeping in there together!"

"Sure. And I'm certain you guys don't have a window of an opportunity to mess around. Is that why you don't want to be with me? Because you'd rather have _him_?"

"No!"

"Don't lie to me, Sonny!"

"Why are you so insecure with yourself?" Sonny boldly asked, wiping away a few stray tears. "Do you really have such low self-esteem that you think I'd actually cheat on you-" Sonny's words were abruptly cut off as Cory stepped forward to grasp her wrists, pushing her hard against the wall behind her.

"I am not the one with a problem!" he screamed, his face only inches from hers. "I'm not the one sneaking around behind your back with someone else. Why are you turning this around on me?" Cory demanded, his grip on her wrists tightening painfully as Sonny shrunk away from him in fear.

Sonny's tears continued to roll down her cheeks uncontrollably as she looked away from the fuming boy who was tightly restraining her. She always knew Cory had a short fuse—but he had _never _done anything like this, and it frightened her. Sonny hated not being able to wriggle free of his dominating grasp, knowing that right now he could do whatever he wanted to her.

"Y-You're scaring me," she admitted, beginning to sob uncontrollably. Cory's eyes, and his grip on her wrists, softened. Taking a deep breath, he released his clutch on the girl and stood back to run his hands through his hair. "I-I can't do this anymore," he said.

Still crying, Sonny finally looked up at him, sorely rubbing her reddened wrists.

"I can't be with a girl—no matter how much I love her—if she continues to sneak around behind my back with some other guy and then _lie _about it."

Sonny stared at the boy in shock, but she knew she was the one to blame for this. She had been lying to him for the past two weeks about Chad being there, even when she knew it was wrong. It was her fault for lying, and if Chad hadn't have screwed up and decided get get drunk that night, none of this would've ever happened. "I-I'm sorry," she told him weakly. "I was afraid you'd get mad at me," she said, the irony of her statement not going unnoticed.

Cory groaned, distraught over the situation. "I need to get out of here before I do something I regret."

Seconds later, Chad watched as Sonny stormed back into the apartment, slamming the door behind her and locking it. She rested her forehead against the door as she tried to get a hold of herself. Sonny had never witnessed Cory act violently towards anyone, but somehow she had managed to bring out the worst in the boy. He'd gone from loving her to threatening her in minutes, and it was all because of one stupid little lie.

"Trouble in paradise?" Chad he finally asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sonny spun around as she emitted a soft sob, and Chad felt bad when he realized she had been crying. He had listened to the muffled, indiscernible yells outside the door, his stomach twisting in worry. The situation was so familiar to him, and he could only hope that his thoughts were being misconstrued as to what had just went on between the two.

Chad's mouth gaped, fear in his eyes. "What happened?" It came was more of a demand for an explanation than a question from a concerned friend.

"You _ruin_ everything," she said hatefully, disappearing into her bedroom and collapsing onto her bed in tears.

Chad thought about everything that was going on right now, and as much as he hated to admit it, he knew Sonny was right.


	7. Chapter 7

**Bad Company**

**Chapter 7; Part I.**

Sonny lie on the couch in her living room that night, staring at the light bruising that encircled her wrists with a sigh. She had never had another person inflict actual physical pain on her before, much less another person who claimed to love her. Her mom had spent to evening trying to prod her for answers as to why she was so upset. Sonny simply told her that Cory had dumped her. It was the truth, though she didn't feel like going into the details of what had happened. Knowing her mother, the woman would most certainly overreact.

What exactly _had _happened? Sonny couldn't help but to believe that Cory's lashing out at her was her fault; after all, she had been hiding something that she knew would hurt him. Maybe she had deserved the way he'd treated her? She knew that he hadn't meant to hurt her. Cory was reacting to his anger—he had just dealt with it in the wrong way. The Cory that Sonny knew would never hurt anyone, would he?

Finally, she sighed as she pulled the long sleeves of her pajamas down to cover her wrists. Explaining what had happened to her mother would be difficult, and Sonny assumed it would be best just to cover her wrists until the bruises finally faded away.

Sonny groaned. She wasn't sure whether she and Cory would _ever_ be together again. Obviously, he'd be harboring a lot of anger towards her for awhile; this wasn't something he'd forget about overnight. But he did say that he loved her, didn't he? Was that really such an easy thing to turn off?

She decided to forget about Cory for the evening, pondering what this quarrel with him meant was driving her insane. It was after midnight, and at this rate, she'd never get to sleep if she kept thinking about him. Finally she sunk back against the sofa, glad to be out of her mom's room for the night, far enough away that she could no longer hear the woman's soft, but distracting, snores.

The brunette comedian had just drifted off when the sound of a hiccup woke her. Her eyes snapped open curiously at the sound. She held her breath, listening carefully for the sound again, but the apartment remained quiet and still. Just when she was certain that it was just her imagination, the soft sound of a sob escaped from her room, and she was certain now that she wasn't just hearing things. Finally, Sonny tossed the blanket that covered her to the side, getting up off the couch and walking quietly towards the door of her bedroom.

The sound grew louder with each step she took—the sound of someone crying. No, there was no way. Chad had to be watching an episode of his show, because certainly someone who was as emotionless as he was wouldn't be _crying._

Sonny slowly pushed the door of the bedroom open to see his figure sitting on the corner of her bed, staring out the window in a trance.

"Chad?"

He didn't look up when she softly said his name, his gaze remaining fixed on the night sky.

"Chad?" she asked him again, this time touching his arm as she said it. The boy instantly flinched, turning to meet her eyes. Sonny was taken aback—completely appalled—at the sight of tear trails streaming down the young actor's face. His eyes were red and puffy, his arms were wrapped tightly around himself, and his face scrunched up from excessive weeping. The scene in front of her was so unreal: Chad Dylan Cooper was _crying_. And not just a few tears, he was full-fledged bawling.

"Chad?" Sonny asked softly, kneeling down to his level. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head, biting his lip in hopes to muffle his sobs. Chad Dylan Cooper knew that he was never supposed to cry, especially in front of _her. _Hadn't he done enough already?

"Chad, please," she begged. "Just tell me what's wrong."

There was a moment when the boy stared at her, trying to decide whether or not to confide in the girl. She had just finished screaming at him only hours prior, and the last thing on Earth he wanted to do was burden her with another one of his problems. Feeling that he just needed to get this off of his chest, he finally spoke.

"It should have been me."

Sonny frowned in confusion, staring back at the him. "What are you talking about, Chad?"

"I should have died in that accident."

Sonny's mouth went agape at his words. "Chad...wh-why would you even say that?" They were such serious words to be saying, especially coming from Chad. The boy was _not _someone who was melodramatic. Perhaps as his character, Mackenzie, but Chad Dylan Cooper did not speak this way in real life.

"It..." he began before emitting another sob. "It was _my _fault. He didn't have to die. It was my fault that it happened. It shouldn't have been Drake. It should've been _me_..." Chad mumbled, almost incoherently, and he began to shake before beginning to cry uncontrollably. Sonny wasted no time in sinking down in the bed next to him, placing her hand reassuringly on his back.

For Sonny, witnessing Chad in his current state was a hard thing to take. Teenage boys did not cry like this, if ever.

"D-Drake's parents _loved _him. H-He could do no w-wrong in their eyes. They h-have to be so crushed r-right now..." Chad managed through broken sobs before taking a deep breath. "My parents could c-care less whether I'm d-dead or a-alive. I-If it would have been me instead of Drake, n-nobody would even care r-right now."

Sonny's eyes widened. She couldn't even believe those words had come out of the boy. Chad was always so sure of himself; he was the most self-confident person she knew. "Chad, that's not true."

"It is. I-I can't do this anymore, S-Sonny," Chad went on. "I-I can't p-pretend like everything's f-fine. I-I hate being a burden to e-everyone." Chad leaned over, burying his face into his hands, his shoulders shaking. "Y-You're right, _I ruin everything_," he whispered.

Sonny's face paled at his words. What she had just told him only hours ago—the words she assumed would have no affect on him at all—was the reason for his breakdown. All of this time she thought Chad was completely unemotional to everything that was going on in his life, he was falling apart on the inside. Every mean thing she'd said to him over the past week had obviously effected him deeply.

The boy brought the back of his wrist up to his face to wipe away his tears. "I killed someone," he finally admitted. "How am I supposed to go on everyday knowing that I killed him?"

"Chad, it wasn't your fault. You didn't force Drake to drive drunk. You did what any responsible individual who's been drinking does and you called a designated driver," Sonny assured him. "_No one_ blames you for his death. No one even has a _right _to blame, you Chad. You both made a mistake—your friend's quite a bit bigger than yours, but it was a very unfortunate accident, and that's it."

Chad sat in thought for a moment, his sobs finally beginning to die down. "I asked him to drive me to some stupid party I didn't even want to go to in the first place. If I would've just stayed home that night..." He shook his head. "I can't pretend this isn't my fault, Sonny. I can't pretend that Drake would still be dead if I hadn't have screwed up that night."

Sonny quickly leaned forward, putting her hand on his shoulder, and that's when it hit her—the stench of alcohol.

"Oh my God! Chad, have you been drinking?"

His guilty blue eyes instantly locked with hers.

"Where did you get alcohol?"

He swallowed hard.

"Chad?"

"I found it in your kitchen," he finally admitted. "It was hidden in the back of the closet."

Closing her eyes, Sonny sighed. "Chad, why would you do this? And after everything that happened?"

"I-I couldn't..." He stared at her, as if somehow his silence would explain it all.

"You can't go without it, can you?" she finished for him.

Ashamed of himself, he shrugged.. "I didn't have anything to drink for two weeks, and it was only a half-bottle of cheap wine. I-I just needed something to calm my nerves. You're going to tell on me now, aren't you?" he asked her, glancing down.

Sonny sighed. "No."

Chad's head snapped up, and he stared at her curiously.

"I don't want my mom getting in trouble over this since you found it in our apartment. She obviously forgot about it, and that's why she didn't find it when we were cleaning everything out. But I don't think you can go on claiming you don't have a drinking problem anymore. You need help, and I want you to go to the meetings."

"I did. I went to one."

"No. I want you to go to one _every_ week. I want you to admit to my mom and Deborah that you have a problem so they can help you get over your addiction. I want you to stop drinking, Chad. _For good_."

"I-I can't go to those meetings anymore. Everyone knows who I am," Chad began, fear evident in his voice. "This thing is going to ruin my career. I can't exactly be a 'tween heartthrob when it gets out that I'm a drunk," he argued. "Mac Falls is my life, Sonny. Without it, I have nothing."

"And alcohol will ruin your _life_, Chad. It already almost _killed_ you! At this rate, it will only be a matter of time before you get fired, too," Sonny said, her tone getting more angry. "I want you to trust me, okay? I don't want to ruin your career; I only want to help you."

Chad's brows drew together at her words.

Sonny sighed. "I don't care what you think—there's a lot of people who do care about you. My mom cares about you a lot. _I _care about you, Chad," Sonny admitted. "I've been so wrapped up in pleasing my boy-, I mean,_ ex-boyfriend,_ that I haven't been all that nice of you. I realize how cruel what I said to you earlier was, and I want you to know that I didn't mean a word of it."

"Sonny, you don't have to apologize..." Chad began.

"No, I do," Sonny insisted with a sigh. "You didn't ruin anything—it was all _me. _I ruined what was once a perfect relationship by lying Cory. It wasn't your fault at all. I'm sorry for blaming you, and for getting mad at you last week when I told you that you didn't deserve an apology. You _do _deserve an apology, Chad. I was wrong, and I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Chad said quietly, shrugging.

"It's not," Sonny said, bumping his shoulder with her own playfully. "But thank you for forgiving me."

Chad looked up from his lap. "So now what?"

Sonny bit her lip. "I dunno. Are you tired?"

He shook his head.

"Then maybe we can go into the kitchen and talk over hot chocolate? That's what my mom and I used to do when I couldn't sleep at night. I don't know if it has the same sobering effects as coffee, but-"

"I'm _not_ drunk," Chad said, rolling his eyes. "Not _that_ drunk, anyway."

"Whatever. Did you finish the bottle?"

Chad sighed as Sonny stared at him, motioning for him to hand over what was left of the wine. Groaning, he dug underneath one of the pillows on the bed and extracted an almost-empty wine bottle. "You know what?" Sonny asked him once she was holding the bottle in her hands. "Why don't you empty it out? It will be our ceremoniously way of celebrating that last night you drink. Ever."

"Right..." he began, blowing his bangs.

"Chad-"

"Okay, I'll _try, _Sonny. But I don't think you realize how my fans hound me at those meetings-"

"Oh, you'll do better than _try_," Sonny warned as she stood up, putting her hands on her hips. She finally reached out to the boy, taking his hands into her own before helping him to a stand, even though she was certain he'd gotten the hang of his crutches by now and could stand just fine by himself.

"God, you're just like your mom," he joked as Sonny reached for his crutches.

"I love my mother, but I'd better _never_ hear you say that again."

Minutes later, after Sonny watched him pour what remained of the wine down the kitchen sink, Chad slipped into a chair at the table. Sonny began to heat some water up in a tea kettle before looking through the cabinets to find the hot cocoa mix.

"I guess now I know why you were trashing my kitchen last night," she said knowingly, retrieving the box she had been looking for and filling two mugs with hot chocolate mix.

Chad offered a small, impish smile. "I have to be honest, I hate waffles."

Sonny placed one of the mugs and a spoon on the table before Chad. As she did so, he couldn't help but to notice how much Sonny really was like her mother, his smile growing more. Mrs. Munroe didn't turn out to be so bad, maybe he and Sonny would eventually grow on each other, too.

Maybe, just maybe, living with the Munroes wouldn't be hell on Earth after all.

Sonny sat down at the table across from him, and they stared at one another in silence. Finally, she laughed a bit towards Chad, her eyes lighting up. "Why are you smiling?"

He shrugged. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize. It's nice. I like it when you're happy," she insisted. "After the past two weeks, it's a relief to see you not sulking in my bedroom for once."

"Yeah..." Chad said in thought as he looked away, suddenly seeming a bit embarrassed. "Just so you know, I'm not a pervert or anything."

Sonny frowned, raising an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"When I saw you in your...your..._unmentionables_," he began, blushing. "I wasn't trying to, like, catch a glimpse of anything..."

Chad was expecting her to get mad, maybe yell at him again for bringing up the subject, but instead Sonny smiled, laughing. "Well, I sorta figured that out by how horrified you looked when you saw me," she said, her eyes sparkling with humor.

"So you're not still made about it? Because you were pretty pissed when it happened."

"Chad, I've forgotten about it, okay?" Sonny assured him.

"Really?"

Sonny's eyes glanced up as she pursed her lips together in thought. "No. That moment will probably haunt me forever," she admitted. "I was just trying to make you feel better."

Chad frowned.

"But, uh, I do forgive you. That and I'm having a lock put on my door asap."

"That's probably a good idea," Chad admitted with a small smile.

Sonny looked down quietly, reaching out in front of her and playing with the handle of her mug. Chad's smile quickly faded when something caught his eye. He frowned as he reached for her wrist, holding it up delicately.

"What happened?"

Her eyes widened, remembering the bruises. "Oh, uh..." she said, tugging her hand out of his grasp and quickly pulling her sleeve down. "I got these new bracelets..." she began. "Turns out I'm allergic to nickel. I know, it looks just awful. Last time I buy cheap jewelery, huh?"

Sonny didn't like the way Chad stared into her eyes, as if he was debating whether or not she was lying, and she quickly averted her gaze from the boy. Luckily, it was then that the tea kettle began to whistle, and she quickly slid out of her seat. "Do you like marshmallows?" she asked him, bringing the kettle of warm water to the table and pouring some in each cup.

"Uh, I'm human, aren't I?"


	8. Chapter 8

**Bad Company**

**Chapter 8; Part I.**

Things went well over the next few days. Sonny and Chad were getting along better every day, and Connie Munroe was pleased to see the boy finally fitting in with her family. Chad didn't feel so awkward living with the Munroe women anymore. He had even come to embrace their crazy tradition of sitting down together for meals every evening and sharing the events of the day.

Sonny was glad that Chad had finally opened up to her, though his life still seemed like such a mystery. Sure, he had confided in her that night that he felt an overwhelming sense of guilt for Drake's death and had even told her about the reoccurring nightmare that kept him up most nights. However, as much as she wanted to ask him about it, Sonny still had no idea what had happened had to Chad's parents. He had let it slip that they didn't care whether he was alive or not, but had he really meant it? What sort of parent would be so cold as to not care whether their only son died? Perhaps he was exaggerating his strained relationship with them?

Sonny pondered everything at the breakfast table that morning as Connie served up a giant stack of homemade waffles. She smiled as she watched Chad wrinkle his nose at the meal before him, but eat it without protest. Catching her giggling at him, Chad smiled back.

"It's not funny."

"It is...sort of," Sonny argued, resting her chin on her hand, thinking for a minute. "Hey mom, I thought maybe Chad and I could use your car today and go somewhere? We've been sitting in this apartment together for almost three weeks now."

Connie smiled as she placed another waffle on Chad's plate. "That sounds great, honey. Where are you two thinking of going?"

"I thought we could hit the beach or something," Sonny said. "I know Chad can't swim with his cast and all, but they're having this kite-flying contest there. I thought it'd be kinda cool to see."

Chad frowned. "The beach? In a cast? For a kite-flying contest? Are you _trying_ to torture me?"

"He's got a point, honey," Connie said, placing some dirty dishes in the sink. "Have you ever tried to walk across sand on crutches? And forget about getting a cast full of sand—I think that might make him a bit uncomfortable."

"Oh..." Sonny said, glancing towards the blonde-haired boy who sat across from her. "We could go to the aquarium," she suggested.

"That would be a lot of walking around for Chad," Connie interrupted. "Remember, it takes a lot more energy for him to get around than it does for you."

"Oh well," Sonny said in defeat. "I thought it'd be nice to spend some time outside today. Maybe we could just catch a movie or something? The new Zac Efron one is playing-"

"Okay, now you _are_ trying to torture me," Chad said with a groan. "Umm, why don't we just go hang out at my house for awhile? I have a theater, a pool, and even a bowling alley..."

"Really?" Sonny asked, though she knew she shouldn't have been surprised that Chad owned all those things. She'd seen the size of his mansion, and chances were he had enough amenities that he probably never had to leave home. "Do you have a Pinkberry there, too?" she asked sarcastically.

Chad went to open his mouth when Connie interjected.

"I'm not so sure if this is a good idea, sweetie."

"It's fine," Chad said with a shrug. "No one's there except maybe a few maids, if they decided to stick around. Besides, I'd like to grab my laptop so I can start working on script ideas for next season's _Mackenzie Falls._"

"I'm afraid it's the lack of parental control that worries me," Connie admitted, remembering Chad's drinking problem. "I just don't think I want you two alone in a giant mansion by yourselves-"

"Mom, we're not going to do anything!" Sonny exclaimed. "It's just a movie. What's going to happen?"

Connie sighed. "I just don't think it's a good idea."

Chad glanced between the two Munroe women. "Well, if it makes you feel better, you could always tag along, Mrs. Munroe."

"I can't, I've gotta go into work today," Connie said handing Chad a bottle of maple syrup.

"Please, mom!" Sonny begged her mother, excited at the notion of having an entire fun-filled mansion at their disposal. "Come on! Chad and I will be together the entire time! Besides, I'm sure Chad would like to check in on the place, and he probably does need to pick up some more of his things. He's wore the same outfit twice this week."

Connie narrowed her eyes a bit, heaving a large sigh before picking up her key chain and letting it dangle from her finger. "Okay, I'm trusting you two to act responsibly today. No drinking, and if I find out either of you did anything even remotely illegal-"

"We won't," Sonny groaned in annoyance, snatching the key chain from her mother's finger.

"Fine. I'm putting a lot of trust in you two. Now, I'm going to call Deborah and see if she'll give me a ride to the office," Connie said, motioning for Sonny to follow her behind Chad's back. Once they had left the kitchen and were standing out of earshot of the boy, Connie crossed her arms. "Listen, the only reason I'm allowing this is because I know that you're a good girl, Sonny, and I don't have to worry about you doing anything wrong. Chad, however, is a recovering alcoholic. You need to keep him within your eyesight every minute you're there, do you understand? Chances are there's liquor hidden all around that house, and you need to make sure he doesn't partake in _any _of it."

Sonny rolled her eyes. "I know mom-"

"And if anything goes wrong—no matter what it is—you call me right away, do you understand?"

"Yes."

Connie let out a huge sigh. "I'm trusting you'll keep an watchful eye on him, Sonny."

"I will," she promised. "I care about Chad's recovery just as much as you do, and I wouldn't do anything to compromise that."

"Good."

With a nod, Connie patted her daughter on the shoulder before leaving the room to get ready for work. She was glad the two were finally becoming friends, but the idea of them in Chad's mansion alone still made her nervous.

**II.**

"Come on, you drive like a grandma," Chad complained as Sonny cruised slowly down the street in her mother's car.

"There's nothing wrong with the way I'm driving," she defended herself, acknowledging the speed limit sign at the side of the road. "I'm being a defensive driver. A defensive driver is a good driver-"

"Oh, come on! This is LA, not Louisiana. The speed limit is simply a guideline, now step on it," Chad groaned, scrunching his face up as the cars following them honked their horns loudly for them to speed up. Sonny was a defensive driver alright. Defensive and extremely nervous.

"I'm from Wisconsin, thank you very much."

"Same difference."

"Hardly..."

"There both the same to me, Nana."

"Chad, will you just be quiet so I can concentrate on the road?"

"Listen, why don't you pull over and let me drive?" the boy suggested, raising his eyebrows.

"You can't drive!"

"Yes I can. I still have my license," he reminded her. "They haven't taken them yet."

"That's hardly the point. How will you manage breaking with that cast on your leg?"

Chad frowned down at the plaster cast that still encased his broken leg. She had him. "Well, for the love of God, will you at least speed up a bit? Someone is going to rear-end us at this rate!"

With a groan, Sonny finally pressed firmly onto the gas pedal, the car speeding up to slightly exceed the speed limit. "Happy?"

"Yes. Thank you."

An hour and a half later, Sonny was pulling up into the circle drive of Chad's lavish home. It didn't matter that she'd already seen it all before, the size and intricate detail of the structure still amazed her—everything from the giant white pillars to the perfectly-manicured lawn. Sonny knew Chad made a lot of money, but his home proved that the boy lived quite excessively. She tried to imagine how many rooms his home had, and the fact that a large fraction of them were probably not in use. It was...insane that anyone would live this extravagantly.

She watched as Chad dug through his pockets to extract his house key before easily unlocking the door and disabling the alarm.

"I don't think anyone's here," he said. "I think we're good."

Sonny nodded as she followed him into his home. "So, do your maids look over you?" she asked. It sounded like an innocent enough question, but truthfully she was curious if there had been any adults around watching over Chad the past few months.

"Yeah, I guess," he said as the couple walked through the kitchen, Chad throwing his keys onto the marble counter top as he passed it. "I mean, they do my laundry and clean the place."

"What about when you're sick? Or hurt?" Sonny tried to imagine getting through a bad case of the flu without her mom standing by with a bowl of chicken noodle soup and a tablespoon of Nyquil.

Chad's eyes met Sonny's, and suddenly he felt uncomfortable. "I don't get sick."

"Oh."

"Anyways, you brought your suit didn't you? You wanna check out the pool?"

She nodded. "But, you can't swim."

Chad shrugged. "Sometimes I just like to sit poolside. You wanted to go swimming didn't you?"

"Yeah-"

"Then you're in for a treat," Chad quickly offered with a smile. "We have an indoor pool, but the one outside is a lot nicer. Much better than the beach," he added with a wink.

"But Chad it's not fair to y-" Sonny began to argue, but her words trailed off when Chad led her outside the french doors of his kitchen and onto a patio that overlooked the most amazing pool she'd ever seen in her life.

Chad's massive outdoor pool was surrounded by large, hand-carved stone walls and a high waterfall that poured over a cave which led through the middle. Crudely shaped spiral stairs were etched into the side of the wall so one could climb to the top of the cave and dive into the deep, roaring water below. Numerous leafy and brightly-colored tropical plants decorated every nook and cranny of the stone partition, giving the entire pool a very natural feel to it.

"Oh my God."

"What'd I tell ya?" Chad asked her, leaning on his crutches and grinning.

"This looks like the set of a movie."

Chad pursed his lips together in thought. "Nah, I've never been on a movie set this nice..." he said, causing Sonny to smile. "Do you need to go in and change?" he asked her.

"My suits on under my clothes," she replied, walking to the pool's edge and dipping her foot in the warm water before sighing in pleasure.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Chad asked her as he eased himself into one of the the white Adirondack chairs that sat at the poolside.

Sonny's cheeks tinted pink as she bit her lower lip.

"Munroe, are you...bashful?"

She smiled nervously. If they were at the beach, surrounded by hundreds of other bikini-clad girls, she'd have no issue dressing down in front of Chad. But there was something about the fact that they were alone, at his house, that made her feel nervous.

"It's nothing I haven't seen before," he reminded her.

"Thanks for bringing that up again, Chad," she replied, rolling her eyes.

"How about I go first?" he asked, and Sonny's head snapped up. The boy had dressed himself in a pair of baggy carpenter shorts that morning and a plain white t-shirt with no intention of changing into any type of swimwear. Sonny watched curiously as he scooted up in his chair, grasping the hem of his shirt and pulling it over his head with ease before tossing it to the chair beside him.

Sonny stifled a gasp when she noticed the small cuts which covered Chad's torso—evidence of a bad car wreck that reminded her of how much physical pain he had to have been in the first week after the accident. Most of the cuts hadn't been deep enough to require sutures, but his upper body was covered in them. Though his wounds had all closed over by now, there was still the tell-tale red marks of skin beginning to heal back together.

As scary as the image before her was, Sonny tried not to appear uncomfortable. The wounds obviously didn't bother Chad, and she didn't want him to feel self-conscious about it. Besides, except for the temporary visual reminder of his horrendous accident, he didn't look bad at all. Sonny always knew he was a bit on the lanky side, but his arms were nicely toned, and his skin still managed to have that California sun-kissed look to it.

Sonny snapped out of her trance when she noticed Chad was staring at her expectantly.

"Umm..." she offered, blushing.

Chad rolled his eyes before covering them with his hands. "Not looking, okay? Now go."

Sonny smiled, peeling off her long-sleeved tee-shirt before unbuttoning her denim shorts and shimmying out of them. Chad finally uncovered his eyes when he heard a loud splash and smiled.

"How's the water feel?" he asked once Sonny had surfaced, sputtering water from her mouth and grinning brightly.

"Amazing!"

Chad pulled on a pair of designer shades, soaking in the sun while Sonny enjoyed the pool. It was nice to be at home, in the privacy of his own back yard, and enjoying the sunshine. He realized the last time this had happened, he was getting sloshed, but tried to to think back to that day. Though it had been almost three weeks, it hurt too much to recall the events of that terrible night.

Sonny, finally having gotten over her modesty, finally exited the pool 45 minutes later dripping wet, wearing a simple blue bikini, and looking quite refreshed.

"I forgot towels," she said with a giggle, holding her arms out to her sides as a puddle slowly formed around her.

With a smirk, Chad took the opportunity to give her a good once over, his eyes glancing over her shapely legs, her trim waste, slowly moving up to...her wrists? Sonny's "rash" had almost faded away, but as Chad pondered those marks around her lower arms, he wondered how on Earth an allergic reaction could look just like a bad bruise.

**III.**

"You'll love this movie, I promise," Chad told Sonny as he opened the case and placed the disc he held into the Blu-Ray player. "I think it's some of my best work so far," he added with a cocky grin.

"Oh, this is one of _your _movies. I didn't think to bring something to read," Sonny joked.

"Ha ha," Chad retorted. "You'll like it though. It's this love story of this really nice—not to mention, devilishly handsome—guy who goes through great lengths to win a girl's heart. I'd be lying if I said they didn't base the character off yours truly," he admitted cockily, stretching his arms out behind his head.

"Ahh, that's why the main character is so full of himself," Sonny said with a smirk as Chad relaxed on the couch next to her.

"Did I mention I won a Tween Choice award for my performance in this film?"

"Only about 50 times over the past eight months."

The movie began, but neither teen found themselves too enthralled in the film. Sonny's mind kept going back to the giant, empty house and Chad's lack of parental guidance. She was dying to ask him the truth about his mom and dad, but wondered if bringing up the subject would make him angry. It had taken them weeks to finally become this close, and she didn't want to ruin that.

But at the same time, she had to know.

"So, do your parents work in show business, too?" she finally asked him, easing into the subject.

Chad looked away from the movie to glance at her.

"Why?"

"I don't know. You seem to be a natural at what you do. I thought maybe you'd inherited it from someone."

Chad stayed silent for a minute before answering her question. "Dad directs."

"Really?"

"Nothing big, just commercials."

"Well...that's cool. Does his job take him away from home a lo-"

"Sonny," the boy interrupted with a frown. "I know what you're trying to do."

Sonny's face paled. "I'm not-"

"You wanna know why my parents are never here," Chad began. "You've made it pretty obvious."

Sonny could feel an argument coming on, and she suddenly felt very ashamed of herself for ruining a good day by prying into Chad's business. "I'm sorry."

Chad shrugged, inhaling a deep breathe. "Do you wanna know the truth?"

"Chad, you don't have to-"

"My parents went on a trip to Nepal eight weeks ago and never came back. They never tell me exactly where they're going, and they never bother to check up on me. They usually stay gone for a couple of months at least, and I like it that way."

Sonny looked at Chad, her mouth hanging open in shock. She certainly hadn't expected such an honest and easy confession from him, and it surprised her.

"It's okay, I'm used to it."

"You shouldn't have to be."

He shrugged. "I don't know anything else."

Sonny bit her lip as she stared at Chad, who had turned his attention back towards the movie. "That's awful. I can't imagine having a childhood like that...I'm sorry, Chad..."

Chad frowned, starting to look a bit angry. "I don't _want _you to feel sorry for me, okay? I don't need my parents around to hold my hand all the time. In case you didn't notice, I was doing just fine on my own." He began to raise his voice as Sonny inched away from him. "Look around. Does it seem like I'm struggling to you?"

Grabbing his crutches, Chad stood and began to quickly hobble away. His angry outburst had caused tears to well in her eyes, and she stood up to follow him.

"Chad, I just don't think they should have left you like this. You were in a bad accident, but where are they at? They have to know what's happened to you by now. How cold-hearted are these people? I mean, they're your parents!"

Chad stopped to face her, anger evident in his expression.

"Okay, fine. My parents don't give a _shit_ about me. Is that what you wanted to hear? Does that make you happy? That every night I come home to a dark and empty house, and all my parents want to do is take off on never-ending vacations while I pick up the tab?" he asked furiously, causing Sonny to duck away from him in fear. His anger towards her reminded the girl of what she had gone through with Cory only days ago, and it frightened her that Chad may be capable of the same violent outburst.

However, as Chad watched Sonny squint her eyes shut as she prepared for the worst, his tone suddenly softened. "Sonny, what are you doing?"

She opened her eyes to see him staring at her with a worried expression on his face. Shaking, she moved to wipe a stray tear which had managed to slip down her cheek as she let out a weak sob. Chad stood staring at her in shock and confusion.

"I-I'm so sorry, Chad..." she said, more tears falling as he stood at a complete loss of what to do. "I didn't mean to..." She sniffled.

"Sonny..." Chad's eyes widened as he stared at the sobbing girl in front of him. What had triggered this? Did she really think he was going to hurt her? Suddenly, he felt very ashamed of himself for getting angry and obviously scaring her. He hated people feeling sorry for him and prying into his private life. The fact that his home life wasn't the perfect one he'd made it out to be was a bit of a sore subject for Chad, but he hadn't meant to upset her. Feeling completely helpless as he watched the small brunette breaking down in front of him, Chad stepped forward and quickly pulled her into his embrace.

He was on crutches, she was crying, and it was awkward.

"I'm so sorry, Sonny," he whispered, as he tried to hold her while leaning against his crutches. "You were just worried about me, and I shouldn't have gotten mad at you."

He pulled away from her slightly, enough to look into her sad brown eyes as he tried to understand what had just happened and why. Sonny wasn't jumpy. She didn't cry over small things like this, and she certainly had never shown any fear towards him before. Then why did she act like he was going to hit her or something? Then his mind went back to those bruises...

"I think I want to go home," she finally said through broken sobs, and he nodded. "I-I just need to use the bathroom first."

Sonny shut herself into the small bathroom off the side of the main entrance, grabbing a piece of tissue and blotting the tears from her face. She mentally reprimanded herself for crying in front of Chad like that. He must have thought she was a nut, falling apart over some silly argument. There was a moment—a mere split second—when Chad had moved a little too quickly towards her, his eyes filled with anger as he raised his voice. It had frightened her, and she found herself unable to contain her tears any longer.

"Sonny, are you okay in there?" Chad asked worriedly through the door after he had been waiting awhile. She had just wanted to pull herself together enough so that the car ride home wouldn't be so awkward. Though it was probably too late for that, she noted.

"I-I'm fine..." she offered, her voice cracking.

Chad sighed, suddenly remembering he was supposed to grab a few things before leaving. He carefully and slowly made his way up the staircase to the second floor before heading into his room to pack a few more articles of clothing. He found an old duffel bag at the bottom of his closet, stuffing it full with as many shirts and pants as he could. He couldn't imagine Sonny wanting to return here any time soon, and it would probably be awhile before he would get to come back. He spotted his messenger bag hanging off the back of a chair, and remembered he had also planned on grabbing his laptop as well.

Chad's eyes scanned his room for the electronic device before remembering he'd left it in his dad's study. He pulled his duffel bag over his shoulder, and with a lot of effort, managed to make it into the room only a few doors down the hall. There he found it, sitting on top of his father's mahogany desk where he'd left it weeks ago. Chad tucked the computer away in his bag, his eyes coming into contact with the open liquor cabinet as he did so.

There were still several mostly-full bottles left, and they were right there, out in the open for his taking.

His conscience screamed at him to turn around and walk right out of the room and never look back. But he could so easily sneak a bottle into his bag, and no one would ever notice...

However, Sonny _had_ trusted him not to drink again.

Chad's eyes traveled from the doorway back to the liquor cabinet as the young actor tried his hardest to ignore the little voice in his head that nagged at him, reminding him this would be his last chance. Once he was back with the Munroes, there wouldn't be a single drop of liquor to be found. It was only one more bottle, just one more drink to take the edge off before he gave it up for good. What would it hurt? And as long as he was careful, who'd find out?

No one.

Without a second thought, Chad grabbed an unopened bottle of Absolut and hid it beneath the clothing in his bag. Seconds later, he met Sonny waiting impatiently outside his bedroom door.

"What were you doing?"

"Just grabbing my laptop," Chad replied, motioning towards the object in his hands. "Are you okay?"

Staring at him quietly, she nodded her head.

"Then let's get out of here."

**X**

Ah, that took a long time to write. I've accepted the fact that this fic is very emotional, and it probably will be the entire way through. Although, I did try to add some sweet little snippets of drama-free Channy interaction to lighten it a bit (Then went right back to the drama lol).


	9. Chapter 9

**Bad Company**

**Chapter 9; Part I.**

"I am so sick of this stupid cast," Chad grumbled as he walked out of his physical therapist's office with a frown. Sonny looked up at him from her seat in the waiting room, placing down the magazine she had been reading.

"How'd it go?"

Chad sighed. "Fine. I'm sick and tired of spending my summer on crutches, though."

Sonny gave him a weak smile. "It'll get better. You'll get out of your cast soon enough, get your court date over with, and then life can start going back to normal." Chad raised a brow at her comment.

Sonny knew that things indeed would _not _go back to normal for the actor anytime soon. Sure, his injuries would heal, but his problems at home would definitely need some fixing. Obviously, DCFS wouldn't just hand Chad back over to his neglectful parents when, and if, they returned from their extended vacation.

"Do you wanna go get some coffee or something?" Chad asked as they made for the door. "I'm sorry, but your apartment is a bit boring."

Sonny smiled. "That'd be nice. I know a quiet little place not far from here."

A half-hour walk later, Sonny was holding the door open to a quaint little cafe a few blocks away as Chad hobbled in on his crutches. They took a seat at a tiny table in the corner as Sonny walked up to order a couple of coffees at the counter.

"It's a nice place," Chad said, looking around once Sonny had returned. "I usually go to Starbuck's, but I get anxiety just being around the one by my house. There's usually a lot of caffeine fiends in a hurry to get to work."

Sonny smiled into her coffee cup at Chad's comment. "Yeah, I used to come here a lot with Cory," she replied, her voice getting low when she mentioned her ex's name.

There was an awkward pause as Chad stared into his cup of espresso. "So, um, listen..." he said with uncertainly. "The other day at my house-"

"It's fine, Chad," Sonny began uncomfortably. "I don't know why I got so upset. I understand why you were defensive. I realize that just because you're staying with us doesn't mean that every aspect of your life is my business."

He sighed. "Well, what I was going to say was that I didn't mean to scare you. I would never, you know, hurt you or anything. You know that, right?"

She ducked her head, pushing a piece of hair that draped over into her face back behind her ear.

"Yeah, of course..."

Chad had wanted to say more. He wanted to ask her _why_ she had gotten so scared of him, but thought better of it. It was her life, and her business. If there was a problem that she wanted him to know about, Sonny would've told him. He must have been misinterpreting everything—the bruises, her reaction to him, and her reason for bursting into tears that day. If someone was hurting her, she would've at least talked to her mom about it. She was too strong of a girl to keep quiet about something like that.

"So..." Chad went on, awkwardly.

"So."

"Wow, this hiatus has really sucked so far, huh?" Chad finally asked her, causing Sonny to spit coffee from her mouth before erupting into laughter. Giving her an unusual smile, Chad handed the girl a giant stack of napkins before moving to wipe the coffee that she had sputtered over the table top.

"I'm sorry," Sonny said, recovering from her fit of laughter. "You're just so honest sometimes. I mean, I've sorta been thinking that all week, and you sure don't hold back when it comes to the truth."

Chad smiled. "So, how were you _planning _on spending your hiatus? I'm sure it wasn't driving around your alcoholic archenemy to all of his appointments."

Sonny sipped her coffee thoughtfully for a moment before sighing. "I don't know. I wanted to see Los Angeles—experience all the culture this city has to offer. There's not much culture _or_ diversity back in West Appleton. I mean, we have the cheese festival every year, but that gets old. This is such a huge city, and I have barely explored any of it."

"What exactly did you have in mind?"

"Oh, I don't know," Sonny said thoughtfully. "I haven't even been Grauman's Chinese Theatre."

"Eh," Chad said with a shrug, taking a sip of he espresso. "The Hollywood Walk of Fame is lame. I don't even have a star there yet."

"Chad, you're only 17," Sonny pointed out.

"Yeah, but giving Godzilla a star and not Chad Dylan Cooper? Please. I've seen his films, and he's a terrible actor."

"He's also fictional."

Chad rolled his eyes. "Whatever, he still stinks."

Sonny laughed, and Chad smiled back at the girl, his eyes lighting up. "This is kind of nice, Chad," she admitted. "We really should have talked more like this before, instead of spending all of our time arguing."

"Yeah, what were all those arguments about anyways?"

Sonny shrugged. "I don't remember."

"Then they must've been important."

Sonny smiled, somehow getting a bit lost in Chad's ocean blue eyes and his perfect smile before straightening up in her chair and quickly clearing her throat. Nope, she definitely would not give him the satisfaction by proving his little premonition true. It had been more than a week, and Sonny was most definitely _not_ falling for the heartthrob. Befriending? Yes. Falling for? _Never_.

"I, um, think I'm going to grab a muffin or some biscotti. Are you hungry?"

He nodded. "Surprise me."

Sonny slipped out of her seat and walked up to the counter to place her order.

"Can I get a blueberry muffin and some lemon poppy seed biscotti?" she asked the lady behind the counter, who nodded.

"We just took some out," the barista said, "give me a minute, okay?"

Sonny sunk down onto one of the bar stools, waiting patiently for her order when she felt someone sit down beside her. She was surprised when she turned to see her ex-boyfriend fiddling uncomfortably and looking a bit solemn.

"Hey," Cory said quietly, and Sonny looked up to meet his eyes before quickly turning her attention away from him. "I've really missed you," he added.

Sonny looked towards the kitchen of the cafe to see if the barista was returning with her food, but she was nowhere in site. Her teeth clinched together and she began to become more impatient about her order. "Is that so?" she muttered, not bothering to look at the boy.

"Listen, I know that you're pissed at me, and you have every right to be. I overreacted that day at your apartment."

"Ya think?"

He sighed "Sonny, I love you. It wasn't some load of bullshit I was feeding you to get in your pants. I got stupid, and jealous, and I was an ass. I didn't..." he mumbled. "I didn't mean to hurt you okay?" he said in a low voice.

It was then that the barista showed up with Sonny's order, and she quickly accepted the small paper bag before turning to walk away. As she did so, she felt Cory reach out and grasp her arm.

"What do you want?" Sonny spat angrily. "Am I just supposed to forget about what happened like it was nothing?"

Cory backed away a bit, running his hand through his hair. "No...of course not. I was way out of line to accuse you like I did. The problem was with _me _and not you. I just have...I have trust issues, okay? I've been cheated on in the past, and it really tore me up."

Sonny rolled her eyes. "So one girlfriend cheated on you, and that automatically makes me a cheater, too?"

"No. I want to make this up to you, Sonny! I feel awful, and what I did has been eating at me all week. I love you so much," he said again, his eyes glazing over slightly. "I hate myself so much for hurting you, and I don't wanna lose you. I would do anything for your forgiveness, even though I know I probably don't deserve it."

Sonny crossed her arms. "I don't know."

"Can we go somewhere? Just as friends?" Cory asked. "It doesn't have to mean anything, can we please just sit down and talk this out?"

"I'm busy today," Sonny said dryly, glancing back the the table where Chad sat watching them intently.

Cory's gaze followed hers, his eyes coming in contact with the blonde-haired actor, and much to Sonny's surprise, Cory nodded towards him in greeting.

"You're with Chad now?"

"I'm not dating him," Sonny explained. "We're only friends, just like I told you before. Though you probably don't believe that."

Cory sighed. "Listen, Sonny, Chad is living with you, and I'm fine with that now," the boy insisted. "I'm fine with you hanging out with him...I just really want to talk. Can we meet up this weekend?"

His eyes were gentle—a far cry from when she'd last seen him, and Sonny could tell he was being sincere. Sonny wished forgiving Cory were really that easy—that she could just accept his apology and things would go back to the way they were. But she had heard too many stories of boyfriends abusing their girlfriends and wondered how on Earth any sensible woman would ever put themselves through that. But...Cory wasn't exactly an abuser. He had made a mistake—a very _stupid_ mistake. Did that mean she should stay mad at him forever? She wanted—no, she needed—to believe that he wasn't the person who'd slammed her up against the wall in the hallway of her apartment building that day. She needed to believe that Cory, the boy she had fallen in love with, was the same guy who she had shared gentle, loving kisses with and had professed his love for her only a week ago. After all, Chad had snapped on her too, and he wasn't some abusive jerk.

Meanwhile, Chad sat across the room, watching Sonny's ex (Coby? Yeah, that was it.) grab her by the arm and pull her back as she started to angrily walk away from him. Glaring in the boy's direction, Chad's hand braced the table, ready to stand and intervene. But then Sonny's expression softened and Cory nodded toward him. The nod was mean to be a friendly gesture, but there seemed to be something about the motion that didn't sit well with Chad at all. It seemed so...fake. He watched as the two ended their conversation with a hug, and Sonny walked back towards the table wearing a smile.

"Everything okay?" he asked, nodding towards Cory who was making for the entrance.

"Y-Yeah," Sonny said, blushing slightly. The conversation ended there, Chad not wanting to drill her for answers, and Sonny not wanting to explain things to him.

Chad took a bite of his biscotti, frowning in thought. He barely knew this guy, but somehow he could already tell that Cory was trouble.

**II.**

That night Chad sat in Sonny's bedroom, taking the things from his duffel bag that he had packed a few days prior at his mansion. The clothes were wrinkled now, and would probably need to be washed and dried again to look presentable. He tossed them into the nearby hamper, his hand reaching into the bag and coming in contact with the cold bottle of alcohol. He took it out, making a face at it.

Okay, so it was what had landed him here in the first place, but as much as Chad wanted to not need it, it just wasn't that easy. He was no dummy—he knew that he had a problem, and that drinking that vodka would be taking a step backward in his recovery. It had been more than a week since he'd had a drink, but lately he found himself wanting it more and more. He needed it to help with his anxiety over what was going on with his parents and the fact that he'd been frequently making the tabloids since his car accident. The paparazzi even followed him to his AA meeting when Connie had dropped him off in front of the facility the day before, and Chad had ended up passing the building by and walking into a nearby Walgreen's, hanging out there for an hour instead. His life was now under scrutiny from Mrs. Munroe, Sonny, his producer, and the rest of the world. He didn't know how to deal with it all, and drinking seemed like an easy fix.

He sighed as he held the bottle in his hand, finally twisting the cap to break the seal. However, the sound of footsteps approaching his door caused him to quickly tighten the cap and stash the bottle back into his duffel bag.

"Chad?" Sonny asked from the other side of the door.

"Y-Yeah?" he asked nervously. "It's alright, you can come in."

The brunette comedian was already dressed in her pajamas—a pair of short shorts and a tank top, considering the temperature in LA had been heating up over the past couple of days. She looked at him with uncertainty as Chad shifted awkwardly where he sat. Sonny seemed to know him too well, and became easily suspicious whenever he was up to anything remotely wrong.

Her warm brown eyes stared at his as she bit her lip, trying to hold back a smile. "I, uh, I'm watching _Dark Water_, have you ever seen it?"

"Yeah," Chad said, his brows drawing together. "It's scary as hell."

"I'm only a half-hour into it, do you wanna come watch with me?" she asked him, blushing a bit.

Chad couldn't help but to smile. "You're scared aren't you?"

She shrugged. "I just thought maybe you'd wanna come out and see a movie, rather than sitting in here and reading _Tween Weekly _all evening."

Chad stared back at her skeptically.

"Alright, I'm scared," she finally admitted, and Chad smiled as he grabbed his crutches.

"Fine, I'll watch with you on one condition—you make popcorn. Homemade, none of that microwave crap."

Sonny grinned brightly. "I think that can be arranged."

Fifteen minutes later, the two were sitting on the couch, Chad holding the remote while Sonny waited next to him nervously.

"Are you ready?"

She nodded her head.

"Are you _sure...?_" he teased.

"Oh Chad, just push the stupid play button already!" she said, rolling her eyes and sinking back onto the couch before stuffing a fistful of popcorn into her mouth.

Soon Sonny was watching the screen in fear, holding a giant bowl of popcorn and bracing Chad's thigh for reassurance. A scary scene played, and she jumped in fright, jerking the bowl which sat on her lap and causing the popcorn inside to toss into the air. Shaking his head, Chad chuckled.

"How can you be laughing at this?" Sonny asked, her eyes squeezed shut.

"You're just such a...baby," he said with a laugh. "This is all fake...even with all the special affects, it's obviously fake."

"A _baby_? Who wouldn't be scared of this?"

He rolled his eyes. "I guess I've been acting too long. It takes really stellar acting—you know, like mine," Chad said, cockily tugging on the collar of his t-shirt, "to make anything seem 'real' to me."

"Whatever," Sonny said, smirking a bit, though she was glad that Chad had stopped sulking in her bedroom long enough for his massive ego to surface again. It was a weird thing to be happy about, but it meant that Chad was starting to feel better about everything that was going on in his life.

During a particularly scary part towards the end, Sonny awkwardly found herself burying her face in Chad's shoulder. The young actor looked down in surprise at the younger girl who was clutching to him for dear life while her nose brushed softly against his neck, sending a small shiver down his spine. With a small smile, he protectively wrapped his arm over her shoulder. Soon, Sonny could feel Chad's chest vibrating as he laughed.

"Umm, you can look up now. It's over."

Still gripping the front of Chad's shirt in a death lock, Sonny slowly removed her face from the crook of his neck. "The scary scene?"

"No, the entire movie," he said with a cocky grin.

"Oh," Sonny replied, blushing furiously as she slowly released the knit fabric clutched in her small fists. She moved to fix her hair, looking away awkwardly.

"It's getting late..." Chad began.

"Right," Sonny said uncertainly, still shaken from the scary movie. It would be hard for her to fall asleep after that one. "I guess we should get to bed, huh?"

Chad frowned. "We could stay up. I heard that there's a _Scooby-Doo_ marathon on the cartoon channel tonight. You know, the good ones from the 60's with the guest stars and an awesome soundtrack?"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, I used to live for that show when I was a kid. Then Scrappy-Doo came along and ruined everything."

"I know, right? It was awful after that."

"So...do you wanna?"

Sonny nodded her head eagerly, hoping the child's cartoon would erase the scary images of the frightening movie they had just finished watching from her head. Chad picked up the remote, and soon the _Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? _theme song began to play. Noticing Sonny had started to rub her arms for warmth from the cool air being blown in by the air conditioner, Chad grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and threw it over both of their laps.

"Thanks," Sonny said, moving a bit closer to him so that the small blanket would cover them both before snuggling beneath it. Only halfway through the first episode, Chad felt Sonny's head resting against him again. Wondering how the animated amusement park owner wearing a ghost costume could possibly be frightening at all, he looked down to discover she'd fallen fast asleep on his shoulder. Sonny's hair spilled over her face, and the girl was snoring softly against him. Chad smiled when he realized how nicely her dark brown hair contrasted against her flawless, porcelain skin. Sonny's full lashes fanned against her delicate cheeks like paintbrushes, and her full, pink lips were parted slightly as her chest rose and fell. He'd always known Sonny was pretty, but having the opportunity to study the girl without the awkwardness of her noticing, he was able to appreciate just how beautiful she really was.

She was perfect, and not just in her physical appearance. For the first time in months, Chad felt what it was like to have someone really truly care and worry about him. Sonny and Mrs. Munroe were a bit of a godsend, he realized. They had both come into his life when he needed them the most, and for that he was thankful.

But then Chad realized that sooner or later he'd have to face his own reality. He couldn't stay here forever, and eventually his parents would be returning home from wherever they were. Chad knew that all good things had to come to and end, and it wouldn't be long before life went back to the way it was supposed to be. He tried to push that sad thought from his head as he stared at the girl resting on his shoulder. She was the ray of light in his dreary life—his _sunshine_.

With a small sigh, Chad eased himself to the edge of the couch, lying the girl back gently and lifting her legs up onto the couch before covering her with the blanket. He smiled down at Sonny as he delicately moved the hair that fell in her face, the tips of his fingers brushing lightly against her soft skin as he did so. He shut off the television and grabbed his crutches, standing up and taking his time to look at her once more before heading off to bed.

Once in the privacy of his room, Chad took out the bottle of vodka he'd stashed away a couple of hours ago, twisting the cap off and bringing it to his mouth. As the neck of the glass bottle came in contact with his lips, he shook his head, placing the cap back on before tucking it away in its hiding place and sighing.

There were two women in this house that expected a lot more from him, and maybe if he tried hard enough, he wouldn't disappoint them.


	10. Chapter 10

**Bad Company**

**Chapter 10; Part I.**

Cory stood with his hands in his pockets in front of a small deli a few blocks away from the Munroe apartment, smiling as Sonny walked towards him. "Hey, babe. I'm glad you showed!" he said to the girl as she approached him, throwing her arms around his neck. But as he leaned down to take her lips with his own, Sonny suddenly backed off.

"Can we talk first?" she asked him, and he nodded.

They both took a seat at the tiny cast-iron table on the sidewalk out front of the establishment, placing their orders to the waiter before taking sips of their iced teas. Cory smiled as he took Sonny's hand into his. "I missed you so much, babe," he said. "The past week and a half has been pure torture without you."

Sonny grinned, stirring her tea with her straw. "I missed you too, Cory," she told him with a blush, looking down. "I really wanted this summer to be about us; it just kinda stinks that we keep running into these obstacles."

"Well..." he began. "We're together now, and there's nothing keeping us from enjoying the rest of your hiatus together, right?"

Sonny nodded eagerly before biting her lip with uncertainty. "But Cory,...there's something I have to say first," she admitted the dark-haired boy, playing with her skirt nervously. "Before we decide to give this another try, I need to know..." Sonny started unsurely. "I need to know that my friendship with Chad won't come between this relationship."

He frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

"The distrust, and the jealousy..." Sonny added uncomfortably.

Cory raised his eyebrows. "Hey, I told you I was cool with it, didn't I?"

"I know," Sonny went on, taking a quick look around her and wondering if Cory would raise his voice at her in a public place. "But it seems like every fight we've had is because you think that Chad and I have something going on—which we _don't_. We've barely just become friends, and...Chad's dealing with a lot of personal problems right now. I can't just end my friendship with him when and if you decide it's not appropriate."

Cory frowned, pausing for a moment as he sipped his iced tea. "Nothing's going on, right?"

Sonny quickly shook her head. "Absolutely nothing."

"Then...I guess we don't have a problem then, do we?" he asked, and Sonny smiled as she leaned forward to place a quick peck on his lips.

**II.**

"I don't get why we have to hang out at your apartment all afternoon."

It was later that day, and Cory and Sonny were flipping through the usual ho-hum weekend programs on the television with the remote, trying to fight off the boredom of sitting in her apartment that afternoon. Cory had wanted to catch a movie, but Sonny had already explained to him that her mom expected her home early that evening.

"My mom's going to be dropping off Chad later, and since she won't be here tonight, I have to stay and keep an eye on him," Sonny explained, feeling as if an argument was about to come on. Although Cory had agreed to be supportive of her friendship with Chad over lunch, it didn't necessarily mean he was going to make it easy for her. When it came to Cory and Chad, _nothing _was easy.

"The kid's 17 years old. Does he really need you to babysit him?"

"Cory, he's a recovering alcoholic. He could get himself into a lot of trouble if I'm not around!" Sonny quickly exclaimed. "I can't just leave him here alone. He's already sneaked a bottle of wine while he's been here. What if he drinks again?"

Cory let out a loud breath. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he agreed, squeezing her leg reassuringly. "Besides, from what I heard, Cooper is pretty much a hardcore drinker."

Sonny raised a brow at his statement. "Heard? From who?"

"Well," Cory answered, edging up towards the coffee table and grabbing a chip from the bag in front of them and popping it into his mouth. "When I worked as an extra on _Hoosier Girl, _Drake Green's father, who's the producer, mentioned his son getting into a lot of trouble after befriending Chad. I guess his grades slipped and he stopped coming home at night. He said Cooper was a really bad influence on him; it screwed the kid up pretty bad. Obviously, I mean he died as a result," Cory finished, nonchalantly.

Sonny bit her lip as she listened to the boy's story. "That doesn't sound right, Cory. I mean, I've known Chad for a long time now. He didn't start acting strangely until last spring, months after he even started hanging out with Drake."

Cory turned to her, his brows drawn together. "Are you saying that I'm lying?" he asked accusingly. "I'm just telling you what I heard from Drake's own _father_."

Sonny gaped. "No! Maybe Drake's dad just said that so it'd make him look like more of a victim. I mean, it would look kinda bad on him if it got out that his son was this terrible alcoholic-"

"Sonny," Cory interrupted with an irritated tone. "Why do you keep making excuses for this guy? He messed up big time, and you're acting like he's done nothing wrong-"

"I'm not!" Sonny quickly exclaimed. "I know Chad made a mistake; I'm just saying that I don't think he's some terrible person. His parents put him through a lot in his childhood."

Cory sighed as he reached out to hold Sonny's hand, staring at her seriously. "Listen, I know you really wanna believe that Chad is a good guy, but everything I've heard about him has told me otherwise. It's not that I don't trust you; I just don't trust _him_. I'm being understanding of him staying here since your mom seems to have a handle on the situation, but I'm a little worried about the guy being around you so much. I don't want him to change you, Sonny."

"He's not going to change me," she replied dryly, pulling her hands from his grasp. "I've known Chad longer than I've known you."

"Just be careful, okay? I'm only saying this because I care about you," he said softly, offering her a gentle smile. "I love you so much, and if anyone ever did anything to hurt you, I don't know what I would do."

Sonny finally smiled in return, placing her hand on Cory's. "Thank you. I do appreciate your concern for me, but trust me, I'll be fine." Cory leaned forward to place a soft kiss on Sonny's forehead, but her smile quickly faded as she remembered something.

"What's wrong?"

"I told mom I'd go down to the laundry room and do some laundry before Chad got back this evening, and I completely forgot about it," she said with a groan.

"Well then," Cory said as he stood up. "How about your big, buff boyfriend give you a hand with the basket then?" he teased, grasping Sonny's hand and pulling her up from her spot on the sofa before following her into her bedroom.

"Doesn't that pretty boy do his own freaking laundry?" Cory asked in disgust as Sonny picked up a pile of Chad's discarded clothing and stuck it into the hamper.

"I don't think he's used to it," Sonny replied with a shrug. "Besides, he can't very well scale the stairs to the basement with a giant load of laundry while he's on crutches," she said as she reached into the duffel bag Chad had pushed underneath her bed, her hand coming in contact with something hard and cold. "What...?" she began, withdrawing a bottle of Absolut. Her eyes widened, her jaw going slack as her eyes met Cory's.

"Chad's?"

"Well, it certainly isn't mine."

Cory let out a deep breath, blowing through his bangs. "Wow, this guy _is _hardcore."

Sonny sunk down onto her mattress, twisting the cap off to take a smell of the alcohol before scrunching up her face. "I-I can't believe he has this..."

"He's a drunk, Sonny; they never give up."

"He told me he'd try to quit," she said is disbeleif. "How is bringing this into our home trying?"

"He lied to you?"

She nodded, studying the bottle better. "But...he didn't drink any of it. It looks completely full."

"If there's one bottle, chances are that there's been more," Cory said seriously. "You really think it's possible for someone with a drinking problem to keep full bottles of liquor around without drinking any of it?"

Sonny quickly shook her head. "But...if he'd been drinking that much, I would know."

Cory stood back, crossing his arms skeptically. "Not necessarily. Didn't you say he spent a lot of time in your room...alone?"

Sonny looked up to meet Cory's gaze, and she felt like crying. It was apparent that Chad had no intention of stopping drinking. All of this time when she thought she could trust him, he'd been doing it behind her back. He had fooled her into thinking he was getting over his addiction, and if anything, it was _worse._

**III.**

Later that evening after Connie had dropped Chad off at the apartment after his physical therapy session, he slowly crept up the stairs and to the door, passing Cory as he was leaving. The boy looked up at him curiously, grinning in that peculiar way he had at the cafe. "Hey man, what's up?"

Chad shrugged. "Not much," he answered, pushing past the boy and not really wanting to hold a conversation with him.

"Later," Cory said, bounding down the stairs in no time flat.

Rolling his eyes at Cory and shaking his head, Chad let himself into the apartment to find Sonny folding towels in the living room. He watched curiously as she placed a pile of folded dish clothes on the seat next to her, frowning intensely at them.

"Ah, laundry day," Chad said with a small grin, sinking down on the couch next to her. "Sorry I missed out on it." When she didn't acknowledge him, his brows drew together. "Something wrong?"

She looked upset. But when did she _not_ look upset when that idiot boyfriend of hers was around? Why she was so persistent on committing to a relationship with someone she couldn't get along with was beyond him. Besides, it was all too obvious she was too good for the jerk.

"No," Sonny answered shortly.

"Did you guys get into a fight or something?"

Sonny sighed loudly, picking up a stack of towels and placing them back into the basket. "We didn't. But if we did, it would be none of your business anyway."

Chad blinked. Why was she being so curt with him? What on Earth had he done to make change her attitude towards him so drastically?

"Sonny, why are you mad at me?" he finally asked. "What did I do?"

"Nothing, Chad," she replied, standing with the basket of freshly-folded laundry. "You didn't do a damn thing."

As Sonny walked towards the bathroom, Chad sighed before heaving himself up on his crutches again. "Sonny, if you're mad at me, can we just talk about it? I'm not a mind-reader you know," he said to her as he watched the girl place the freshly-folded towels into the linen closet. She closed her eyes as she took a deep breath.

"I don't feel like talking, Chad," she replied shortly. "As you can see, I have a ton of work to do. Why don't you go read in your room or something? I'll call you when dinner's done."

"But, Sonny-"

"Just go, Chad," she groaned, walking past him towards the door.

**IV.**

Connie was surprised when she returned home late that night to find Sonny sitting on the couch in the dark, her knees pulled up under her chin as she stared at the wall.

"Sweetie, it's almost midnight. What are you still doing up?" her mother asked her as she dropped her keys on the table by the door before taking a seat next to her daughter on their sofa and propping her feet on the table.

Sonny sighed, her arms crossed over her chest as she looked at her lap.

"Oh goodness, does this have to do with Chad?" Connie asked. Sonny and Chad had always clashed heads, and the woman knew that it was only a matter of time before another altercation arose between the two. "Did it have to do with Cory coming over this afternoon?"

"No, Cory was fine with it, mom," Sonny said, squeezing her eyes shut.

Connie studied her daughter's grim expression and knew instantly that whatever the problem with Chad was had to be a serious one. "Sonny, if Chad's done something, I have to know. As his temporary legal guardian, it's my job to keep him out of trouble. Now tell me what's going on," her mother finally warned.

Standing up, Sonny motioned for Connie to follow her into the kitchen. With a sigh, she pushed open the cabinet below the sink, digging behind some cleaners before pulling out the bottle of vodka she'd found in Chad's bag earlier. Her mother's eyes widened as she handed it to her.

"Where did you get this?" Connie asked her.

"I found it...in Chad's duffel bag."

Connie closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "Do you know where he got it from?"

Sonny looked down at her mother's question, feeling ashamed of herself.

"Sonny?"

The small brunette moved to wipe a tear that had begun to slip down her cheek as Connie waited expectantly for an answer. "When Chad and I were at his house..." she started awkwardly. "I had to go to the bathroom. I might have been in there a little too long, because after I came out, I found him upstairs in his dad's study. He said he was only grabbing his laptop. I think that maybe he sneaked it into his bag that day," she admitted, her bottom lip quivering. "I'm so sorry, mom! I wasn't watching him, and this is all of my fault!"

Connie placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders to settle her. "Sonny, did you talk with Chad about this?"

She shook her head. "I-I didn't know what to say to him that I haven't already. Mom..." she went on unsurely. "Chad found some wine in the cupboard a couple of weeks ago. I didn't want to say anything because I was afraid you'd get in trouble for it, but he drank what was left in the bottle in one night. He told me that he couldn't function without it."

"Sonny," Connie muttered her daughter's name in disbelief. "This is very serious, and you shouldn't have kept that from me. Chad is slowly killing himself, and the reason he's here is because he needs to get over his addiction. I...," she began with a slight pause. "I think it's time to place a call to a rehab center who can watch Chad appropriately and make sure he's taking the needed steps to sober up. I found out today that he hasn't been attending all of his weekly AA meetings. Apparently, he leaves as soon as I drop him off. Your finding this bottle just confirms the fact that Chad is still abusing alcohol."

Sonny's eyes widened at Connie's words. "But mom, you can't just get rid of him like that!"

"Sonny, this is for Chad's own good," her mother assured her. "We don't have the means to help him here. I care about him just as much as you do, but he needs a serious intervention if we want him to get better. This is his _life _were talking about, Sonny."

"He needs one more chance, Mom! I don't think you realize how hurt he's going to be if we give up on him like this-"

"Sonny..." her mother began warningly.

"Mom, his parents abandoned him. They left him here to fend for himself, and even after his car accident, didn't bother to even check up on him! They're _never _around," Sonny said, tears falling as she remembered her conversation with the young actor at his mansion only days ago. "They don't give a crap about him, and I don't think he'll ever recover if we send him off to live in some rehab center. How would you feel if the only people who cared about you just turned you away when you needed them the most? I can't even _imagine _going through anything like this without the support of family around me and not some stranger with a degree in drug counseling."

Connie pursed her lips together as she took in what her daughter said. "He spoke to you about his parents?"

"Y-Yeah," Sonny answered, uncomfortably. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you..."

"It's fine, Sonny," Connie reassured her daughter. "It means Chad trusts you, and it's a huge step for him. I was starting to wonder whether we were getting through to him at all."

"So, we can give him another chance?"

Connie sighed. "I have to speak to Deborah about this since she's the one assigned to his case. I'll try to be persuasive-"

Sonny quickly cut off her mother's words with a tight embrace. "Oh thank you, Mom!"

Connie smiled as she pushed her daughter away slightly. "I'll speak to Deborah and see what we can do. But he needs an intervention, Sonny. He needs to realize what he's doing to himself—to his life.

I'm not trained to deal with these type of problems. If he doesn't start going to his meetings, and if he drinks again..."

"I know," Sonny said sadly. "Then rehab won't be a choice."

Connie nodded, squeezing her daughter's shoulder before walking out of the room. "Oh, and get rid of that bottle," she called over her shoulder.

Sonny twisted the cap off the bottle, watching the alcohol glug slowly down the kitchen drain. All she could do now was hope—and pray—that somehow she could get through to Chad. But how?


	11. Chapter 11

**Bad Company**

**Chapter 11; Part I.**

"You didn't have to stay at the meeting with me you know," Chad told Sonny that afternoon as they were driving back from his AA meeting. "Your mom usually just drops me off. It's fine, really."

Sonny bit her lip as she came to the familiar intersection where she usually made a left to head home, but instead kept driving straight. "I wanted to make sure you were doing okay there," she said quietly.

Chad looked towards the girl curiously. Why Sonny had begun acting so strange towards him the day before was beyond him, and today hadn't been much better. He felt like he was under even more scrutiny now than he had been before. Hadn't he proved to her he was doing okay? They were getting along, and as much as Chad still wanted to drink at times, he hadn't.

It all brought his thoughts back to that bottle he'd stashed under his bed more than a week ago. With the Munroe's watchful eye on him, Chad hadn't had the opportunity to get rid of it yet. It beckoned him every single night, but Chad was finally at the point where he no longer took the bottle out from its hiding spot and held it in his hands until his conscience talked him out of it. He knew it was still there—he just refused to acknowledge it.

"Sonny, where are we going?" Chad finally asked when he realized she had missed her turn five blocks away.

"The studio."

His brows drew together at her reply. "But, why?"

Sonny sent him a glance before turning her eyes back towards the road. "There's some people who want to speak to you."

Chad frowned in confusion. "What are you talking about? The press?" There was no way she would set him up for something like that, and the idea of it made him nervous. But for some strange reason, Sonny was avoiding answering his question.

"No," she answered shortly.

The rest of the car ride went by in silence. Chad had no idea why, but Sonny had something up her sleeve.

After pulling into the parking lot at Condor Studios and swerving her car into Chad's usual parking space, Sonny put the vehicle in park, letting out a small sigh. Chad instantly noted that there were a few familiar cars in the lot—Mac Falls cast and crew who were _supposed_ to be on hiatus right now.

"Sonny, what's going on?" Chad asked, placing his hand on the girl's arm to stop her before she could open the car door.

"You'll see."

Still refusing to exit the car once Sonny had removed her keys from the ignition and stuck them into her pocket, Chad sat still in his seat while she opened the driver's side door.

"Follow me," she told him, slipping out of the car and walking towards the entrance as Chad sat in a trance, watching her. She only sent him one more glance as she grabbed the handle of the door which led into the studio before Chad's curiosity got the best of him, and he finally exited the car to follow her.

"Come on, tell me what's going on, Sonny!" he begged her, following the girl as quickly as he could on crutches towards the _Mackenzie Falls _sound stage. "Why are we here?"

Sonny held open the door to the cast meeting room, standing back a bit and waiting for him to enter. "You'll see," she told him again with little emotion in her voice.

Chad stared at the small brunette skeptically for a second. This all was so...weird. But it was Sonny, and for some strange reason, he trusted her. Rolling his eyes, he entered the room to find that it was not empty. Gary was there, along with Portlyn, Skylar, Ferguson, Nico, and even Zora.

"Umm..." he began in a daze. What was going on? And why were his cast mates plus a few Randoms sitting around a table looking at him expectantly? He turned around when he heard the door slam shut behind him to find that Sonny was blocking the only exit, arms crossed over her chest.

"Okay...What the hell is going on already?" he asked, annoyed. She had set him up for something—something she obviously didn't think he would want to have any part in. Chad could see Sonny's jaw clench before she closed her eyes, sighing.

"This is an intervention, Chad..."

His mouth went agape at her words. "An intervention? For what?" he demanded, his voice getting high.

"Why don't we sit down first?" she finally suggested, taking his elbow and guiding him to a chair. Sonny sat down next to him, and Chad's cast mates studied him curiously. "Here's the thing, Chad," she began. "I found the bottle of vodka in your bag last night, and I know you haven't been going to your meetings."

"Oh, no Sonny, you don't-" Chad began, but was quickly cut off when Sonny held up her hand.

"Chad, I'll let you speak later, but first off, we all have something important to say to you," she said, biting her lip as she looked down at her lap. "The thing is that we all really want you to get better, Chad. I know overcoming addiction isn't easy, especially when certain important people in your life aren't here to help you battle it. Your parents might not be around right now, but there's an entire room of people here who do care about your health...and your life..."

Chad listened quietly to what Sonny was saying, deciding to let her finish without interrupting.

"I just..." she began, awkwardly wiping away a tear that managed to slip down her cheek. "I hate it that you think your only option for dealing with this difficult time in your life is alcohol. When I hear these stories of kids who've died young from the effects of alcoholism, it scares me, Chad. I just don't know..." she went on, letting out a soft sob. "I don't know what I'd do if anything ever happened to you. I feel like we've really become great friends over the past few weeks. I care about you, Chad...I mean I _really _care about you as if you were one of my family members."

Listening intently as she spoke, Chad could feel his eyes begin to burn. Sonny was being open, honest, and she was speaking from her heart. It was too difficult for him to try and remember if his parents had ever showed such caring towards him—if they had, it was too many years ago for him to recall.

"Y-You're one of my best friends," she admitted, wiping away the tears which now flowed freely, and the site of her crying nearly broke Chad's heart in two. "And I just want you to know that if there's _anything _going on in your life that you want to talk about, I am always here to listen. No matter what."

Chad swallowed, opening his mouth slightly as his expression softened.

"But I'm not the only on here with something to say, so..." Sonny said, forcing a laugh while she continued to wipe away her tears.

"You know what, Chad?" Gary finally piped in, causing the actor to turn in his direction. "Your a cocky, self-centered, reckless, smart-ass teenager, and you have never failed to question my authority as your producer-"

Chad frowned.

"-but that being said, I've always liked you. I realize we didn't part on the best of terms that last I saw you, and I've been worried about your problem ever since we spoke about it in the hospital weeks ago. You know what? I don't give a crap what the press is writing about you," Gary went on, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. "For a kid that's grown up in front of the camera, you turned out pretty good. You treat your cast well, and up until recently, you were all just like family. I want you to take this opportunity to look at your life and think about if this is really where you wanna be. You can do anything you want to, Chad. You're a brilliant talent. I'd just hate to see that talent go to waste because you've taken the same road so many in young Hollywood have."

"Yeah, well..." Chad began awkwardly before suddenly being cut off by Portlyn, who threw her arms around him.

"I love you, Chad," she said against his shoulder, her arms wrapped around him in a bear hug. He smiled slightly, his hand coming up to pat her shoulder. They used to be best friends—_used _to, before Drake came along and Chad's life began to spiral out of control. It had been a long time since he'd really spoken to her as a friend and not as his character, Mackenzie.

"I know you really don't think of me as a friend anymore," Portlyn began, and Chad's face paled at her words. "But there was a time when I was going through something really...awful...that I didn't think I could tell anyone. Do you remember?" she asked softly, and he nodded. "You really helped me when I was too scared to tell anyone. I don't know where I would be right now without you, and I just want you to get better so we can hang out like we used to. Even though it doesn't look like we'll exactly be hating on the Randoms together anymore..." she said with a tearful smile as she motioned towards Sonny. "Well, not one of them at least," she added as Nico and Zora frowned at her from across the room.

"Alright, listen guys-" Chad began when he felt a forceful punch in his bicep. He winced as he looked towards Zora. "What the-?"

"You took me to see giraffes on ice, and even out for ice cream. You may be a jerk who's on a terrible show, but...it was pretty cool of you to pull through for me when Sonny canceled our plans last minute," she admitted with a shrug before sitting back down. "But I really do hate your show," she made sure to add.

"Uh, thanks?" he replied, uncertainly..

"And you let me drive your forklift," Nico piped in. "True, I'm still making payments on the repairs made to the studio that was _supposed _to be _Mackenzie Falls_, not to mention my fine for operating a forklift without a license, but I still remember the good times...and the surprise on Sonny's face when we crashed into the prop house."

"And you gave me the confidence I needed when I started the show," Skylar piped up. "You helped me realize that physical appearance is a huge part of acting, if not the most important aspect," he added, combing his hand through his perfectly manscaped hair. "It's been a pleasure being your evil half-brother onscreen. I can't wait to work with you on another season."

Smirking, Chad shook his head uncertainly.

"All of this makes me feel a little guilty about that six pack we stole back when the show started," Ferguson admitted from across the room. "Remember? We were both 13, and we found that cheap beer in my dad's garage and got hammered," he said as Chad laughed a bit. "We were so sick the next day... The thing is that we've had a lot of good times together over the past four years, and I'd like to have a lot more."

Smiling, Chad nodded, turning when he heard Sonny emit another loud sob. Crying as she brought her hand up to cover her mouth, the girl stood up, turning away and walking quickly out of the room. Chad frowned, standing up from his seat and heading towards the door after her.

"I'll be right back guys," he said as he tried to hobble quickly after her on his crutches, finding her standing in the hallway with her back against the wall as she tried desperately to settle herself. Her entire body shook as she cried.

"Sonny, are you okay?" It was a dumb question, he knew that. Of course she wasn't okay.

"I-I can't stand back and watch you kill yourself, Chad," she tearfully admitted. "My mom wanted to place you in rehab. For some stupid reason, I thought I was helping you this entire time, and I honestly don't know what else to do now."

Chad felt his heart instantly sink at her words. If he had any clue how badly taking that vodka would affect her... But of course, there was no turning back now.

"Hey," he said, trying to get her attention as he stepped forward, placing his index finger beneath her chin and gently raising it so that her eyes met his. "I know I was wrong to bring that bottle home, okay? I'll admit that the past few weeks have really been hard. I was stressed that day, and I thought that's what I needed to mellow out and settle my nerves. But maybe you noticed when you found it that the bottle was completely _full_."

Sonny swallowed hard, using the back of her sleeve to wipe away her tears as she looked at him with uncertainty.

"I didn't drink any. I haven't drank since that night in my room when I told you about Drake. This is all just a huge misunderstanding."

"Chad, you're not lying to me...are you?"

"No," he answered honestly. "I'm not. The only thing that kept me from getting totally wasted when I had the chance was you. I promised you that I would try, and that's what I'm going to do."

Sonny had stopped crying now, her sobs subsiding as she stood staring at him in wonder.

"Really?" she finally asked him in a hopeful voice.

"Yes _really,_" he said with a smile. "I don't wanna do anything to compromise you or your mom's trust."

"But, you haven't been going to your meetings, Chad," Sonny suddenly remembered. "Why?"

Chad sighed as he stepped back, running his hand through his hair. "I'm ashamed."

"Of seeking help?"

"Of everything I did. For getting drunk, for lying about my problems, and for costing another person his life."

"But Chad, it isn't your-"

"If I hadn't started drinking a few months ago, it wouldn't have happened," he quickly interrupted. "I can't pretend that's not true, because it is. I really hate the person I've become," he finally admitted. "A long time ago, I made a wrong decision to start drinking. Then it got to the point where I couldn't stop, and it's screwed up my entire life."

"But you can change, Chad," Sonny assured him.

He nodded. "I can, and I will. I wanna get my life back on track. I want my fans to know that I'm not some ungrateful jerk who lives a life of excess. I just...I want things to be the way they were last year. There's certain things that I've done that I can't take back, but this isn't the life I want, Sonny."

He watched as she bit her lip, staring at him silently. He was almost certain she was about to start crying again, but instead, her arms wrapped around him as she rested her face against his chest. He smiled to himself as he placed his hand on her back, balancing on his crutches as he moved his hands through her soft dark hair. Then he remembered what she had said only moments ago.

"You said something about rehab?" he asked, fear evident in his voice. If Sonny's mom was serious about sending him to rehab, he was in a lot more trouble than he thought.

Sonny slowly released him as she looked up into his scared blue eyes. "My mom wanted to when she found out. I talked her out of it, though—I didn't think it'd be good for you. I think once she knows the truth, she won't be considering it anymore."

"I can't believe you did all of this for me," Chad finally added with a surprised smile. "I mean, why?"

Sonny laughed as she rolled her eyes. "I thought I was pretty clear back there, Chad—I did it because I _care _about you, dummy!"

Chad smiled as he stared back at her, his hand finally reaching up to move a tear-soaked tendril of hair behind her ear, and Sonny smiled back as a slight blush tinted her cheeks. "Sonny, I-" he began before a petite curly-haired brunette came bolting towards him, wrapping her arms around him quickly and almost knocking him to the ground in the process.

Sonny laughed as she watched the interaction between Chad and Portlyn, though Chad was scowling begrudgingly at the fact she had just interrupted him _again _at the worst time possible.

"Uh...Hey Port," he began, unenthusiastically. "I've been gone for five whole minutes, did you miss me already?"

"I'm so glad you're back Chad!" she admitted, smiling brightly while squeezing him even more tightly.

"Yeah, uh, I never really went anywhere," he reminded her. "We are on hiatus, remember?"

Portlyn rolled her eyes at his comment. "That's not what I meant. I meant I'm glad you're back from whatever dark dimension you've been living in the past few months. Mac Falls can be Mac Falls again!"

He smiled as he finally hugged her back, realizing it had been much too long since he and Portlyn had spoken as friends, rather than as cast mates rehearsing their lines together. "Yeah...Well, you know what? We haven't hung out in forever, Port. Can I call you this weekend? We'll catch a movie or something," he finished with a shrug.

Nodding eagerly, Portlyn released Chad from his grip. "Definitely," she answered before turning to walk away. "Later Chad. Sonny," she added before exiting the door.

"Wow, is she ever a bundle of energy," Chad began, turning to Sonny to see she was already heading back down the hallway. The moment was over, and the opportunity was lost, he realized with a sigh. He quickly caught up to her, walking in time with the brunette girl.

"Well, if Portlyn didn't make you feel loved, I'm not sure what else would," she said with a laugh.

He hung his head, smiling as he used his crutches to walk beside her. "Do you think maybe we could go somewhere and talk? Some where that's not...here?" he said, wrinkling his nose as he stared at their surroundings. Being in the studio was fine any other day, but not during hiatus. Hiatus was the one time of year where Chad could just be Chad and not Mackenzie.

Sonny nodded.

**II.**

"Ah, the park," Chad said with a smile as he and Sonny looked over the small pond in front of them, sitting leisurely atop a picnic table while a group of screaming kids ran around them. "I should have known."

"You don't like parks?" she asked him in disbelief.

"I do, I just haven't really been to one since I was, like, 10 years old," he said with a smug grin. "I used to have my birthday parties here, actually..."

"Really?"

"Yeah, my grandma used to rent out that pavilion over there every year," he said, suddenly looking a bit sad. "She really went all out."

"Does she live in L.A.?"

Chad shook his head. "No...She passed away around Christmastime."

Sonny stared down towards her shoes, not sure of what to say next. "Sounds like she was a nice lady."

Nodding, Chad sighed as he looked up at the sky. "Yeah...My parents were never around for birthday parties, but Nana never forgot them. She was planning weeks ahead for ours."

Sonny raised an eyebrow. "Yours and...who else's?"

Chad shifted uncomfortably where he sat. "She made the cake herself and everything," he went on, choosing to ignore her question. "Put up streamers, blew up balloons, hired a clown—the works."

"Sounds like you had a Chad-tastic party."

He smiled. "Nah, I didn't have an ego back then..not that I regret it now, of course. I am who I am, after all," he added, sticking his chest out obnoxiously, and causing Sonny to slap his arm playfully.

"You really know how to ruin a moment," she said with a snicker.

"It's a gift," he said with a shrug.

"So...your grandmother took care of you when you were young?" Sonny finally asked him, and he nodded.

"For awhile. Around the time I started Mac Falls, her mind wasn't the same: Alzheimer's. She was slowly deteriorating. I'm not sure if she even knew who I was before she passed. It was a sad thing to witness."

"I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "No one lives forever. It doesn't affect me like it used to," he added quietly.

"What happened?" Sonny asked curiously.

"Drake Green happened," Chad said with a laugh. "We'd been friends for awhile, and once Nana passed away, I got really depressed. I started going drinking with him, and that was that."

"Hmm," Sonny wondered to herself, remembering what Cory had told her the day before. _He was wrong._

"The thing is that everyone thinks Drake was this horrible guy now—he's being remembered as a worthless teenage drunk," Chad added, looking away deep in thought. "He wasn't. He was a good guy who got mixed up with some bad people and started experimenting with drugs and alcohol. It was your basic teenage rebellion against a work-obsessed father. But Drake was there for me when everything really sucked; I guess we just dealt with it in the wrong way. I just wish he were here to get a second chance."

"Drugs? Chad, did you-" she began to ask.

Chad quickly shook his head before Sonny could finish her question. "No. I imagine if we were still hanging out, I would have eventually. I was at the point where I didn't give a crap about anything anymore. My producer kept warning me, and I just didn't listen. I stopped talking to Portlyn and the others when they tried to intervene. I was at a really dark period in my life. I hated everybody and everything—I even hated myself."

Sonny smiled, and Chad felt her hands wrap around his arm as she leaned to rest her head against his shoulder. "It'll get better, Chad," she assured him, causing him to grin.

"It already has."

**X**

**A/N: **I've had this entire chapter planned out for awhile. I hope it wasn't _too _sappy for you, but it is an intervention, so it is expected to be a bit sappy. I kinda played into **KellyTheLovatic**'s idea, though I had to change a few things to go along with what I have planned for the rest of the story. But the part where they're standing in the hallway was inspired by her suggestion, so I thought she deserved a shout out here.

I hope you all don't mind the short chapters. I usually write longer ones, but for some reason these are coming out a lot shorter than I usually write. I end up updating more often because of it, though.

_And_ now you get the privilege of leaving me a review on your way out. Because**I know** you want to! ;)


	12. Chapter 12

**Bad Company**

**Chapter 12; Part I.**

"I bet you're ticklish," Cory joked as he and Sonny were lounging around in her bedroom that evening, the window open as a cool breeze blew in and the sounds of summer echoed throughout the courtyard outside.

It had been almost a week since Chad's intervention, and everything seemed to be better now. The heatwave had ended, Chad was getting his walking cast today, and Sonny and Cory's relationship seemed to be blossoming. Things were slowly, but surely, getting back to normal around the Munroe household.

Sonny rolled her eyes at her boyfriend as she sat on the edge of her bed looking through a magazine, Cory gently moving her hair aside as he slowly blew on the nape of her neck. "Will you stop that?" she asked with a giggle. "I'm almost 17 years old—I am _not _ticklish anymore."

"Mmm hmm, I bet," the boy told her, his fingertips ghosting over the sensitive part of her neck, causing her to bring her shoulders up at the feeling. "Cory, stop it!" she demanded with a laugh.

"Oh, you are _so _ticklish."

Sonny finally threw the magazine to the side, her fingers moving to the boys chest and stomach as he rolled with laughter.

"Who's the ticklish one?" she asked, her fingers attacking his stomach and underarms relentlessly and Cory tried to push her away. "Hmm?" she asked him.

"S-stop!" he demanded in a fit of laughter. Before Sonny knew it, Cory was tackling her down to the bed, pinning her as their roles reversed. His hands traveled up her stomach, underneath her arms, and behind her back as Sonny found herself in a fit of giggles.

"Say it!" he demanded with a playful smile. "Say it! You're ticklish."

"Never!" Sonny refused, gasping for breath all the while. When she started to turn red from laughter, the boy finally stopped his assault, looming over her as he leaned down to take her lips with his own.

"You're a _bad _liar, babe," he said with a grin, and Sonny rolled her eyes. Cory's eyes closed again as their lips connected once more, a heated make-out session soon taking place of their childish game. Cory could hear Sonny sigh softly as his lips went to her neck, her fingers wrapping in his hair as he did so.

"C-Cory..." she began, when it started to feel like things were moving too quickly. "I-I don't-"

"Just relax," he assured her, kissing her lips again. His hand tugged at the hem of her shirt in an effort to remove it, but Sonny's hand quickly blocked the move.

"I, uh..." she began uncomfortably.

Cory's eyes went to hers, and she winced when she realized how hurt he looked. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know if I can."

"What? Why?"

"I'm just...I don't think that I'm ready. And besides, my mom and Chad are going to be coming back soon," she told him, though it was somewhat of a lie.

"You said they wouldn't be back until around eight," he scowled. "That's a whole hour away."

"They might be back early. Their just giving him a walking cast, I don't think it will take that long-"

Cory sighed, rolling his eyes at the girl. "Why don't you just admit it—you're _scared_."

Sonny's mouth opened in shock. "You say that like it's a bad thing," she said, hurtfully.

"Sonny, you're 16 years old and you still act like a baby," Cory said. "Either you wanna be with me or you don't. I've been way too understanding about this over the past few months, and we've been together for a long time now. We're in love. What? Do you think you're too good for me or something?"

Sonny's face fell as she shook her head in disbelief. "You said you would wait until I was ready."

Cory sighed. "Yeah, I did and I will," he assured her. "When and _if _that time _ever _comes," he added spitefully. When Sonny frowned, Cory's expression softened and leaned forward to brush her long bangs out of her eyes and place a kiss on her forehead. "I'm sorry. I love you, and sometimes that makes it a little hard for me to control myself," he admitted with a reassuring smile.

With a slight grin, Sonny nodded in understanding as Cory's lips connected with hers once more. Sonny hated to admit it, but Cory's constant insistence on taking their relationship to the next level was making her feel guilty about wanting to wait. A lot of girls her age _had _gone a lot further than she had; maybe he was right, maybe she _was_ being a baby...

And she _did _enjoy kissing him, even though in Cory's mind it was always leading up to something else.

It wasn't long before things began to heat up again, and Cory's hands found themselves up the back of her shirt, nimbly unhooking her bra before she could protest. "Cory, we can't..." she told him, but the boy still made no effort to back off.

"Come on," he groaned. "It's perfect timing," he said into her ear, "You're mom's gone, Cooper is out of the house..."

Cory didn't hear the front door opening as he pleaded with Sonny to keep going.

Chad was the first one up the steps that evening, glad to finally be able to hang up his crutches for the first time in six weeks. Sure, the walking cast was a pain in the butt, but at least his underarms weren't sore and bruised anymore, and he was glad to have back the use of his leg.

As he waited for Connie to finish checking the mail downstairs, Chad let himself into the apartment. He heard faint talking, realizing that Sonny and Coby must be in her room. His stomach churned at the thought of them in lying on her bed together, probably necking and whispering sweet nothings in one another's ear. He tried to ignore them as he searched for the remote to the television in hopes of drowning out the sounds of their voices.

"Cory, we can't..." Sonny's voice pleaded, causing Chad's head to snap up.

"It's perfect timing," he heard Cory's demanding voice say, as he approached the door.

"I told you I wasn't ready."

"You're being ridiculous."

"Cory—will you just stop it!"

At this point, Chad's blood was boiling and he swiftly flung open the door to see that Sonny was readjusting her wrinkled clothing, her hair all a mess. Chad glared at Cory, who quickly sat up from the bed, angrily staring back at the blonde-haired actor. "Need something, Cooper?" he snapped. "Or have you never heard of _knocking_?"

Chad's eyes looked to Sonny, and she appeared a bit relieved that he'd intervened when he did.

"Hmm, considering that this is _my _room, I don't think that I'm required to knock."

"Really?" he asked. "I guess that shows how much respect you have for Sonny, huh?" the boy asked angrily, pushing past Chad and making for the door. Wincing, Sonny began to follow him out of the apartment when Chad quickly grabbed her forearm. "Sonny, don't follow him," he warned.

Shaking her head at Chad, she pulled away and continued her pursuit.

"Sonny!" Chad called, but she was already fleeing down the stairs after her boyfriend.

Chad scowled. The guy was obviously trying to pressure Sonny into doing something she didn't want to, and now he had a reason to hate Cory even more. Unfortunately, Sonny was already out of the apartment, alone with her boyfriend who was just pushing himself on her only minutes ago.

Soon Mrs. Munroe was walking through the door, a stack of mail in her hands. "Sonny took off pretty quickly," she said, looking over her shoulder. "Do you know if everything was okay when she left?"

Chad swallowed hard as Connie waited for a reply. "I don't think so."

**II.**

"Cory, this isn't my fault!" Sonny warned as she ran after her boyfriend. "I didn't ask Chad to show up when he did-"

"Yeah? But I'm sure you're glad that he did," Cory spat, continuing to walk away.

"You were pressuring me, Cory," she told him, her arms crossed over her chest as the boy moved to unlock his car. "You know how I feel about this-"

"Right," he said, rolling his eyes. "Your stupid chastity necklace—I know all about it."

"It's not stupid."

Cory, who was getting ready to get into his car, suddenly paused. "Sonny, this is the _real world_. You're acting like some goody two-shoes in some after school special right now."

Sonny hated that he didn't take her values seriously. She had made up her mind a long time ago not to be rash about entering a physical relationship—they had spoken about it numerous times before. But as time went by, Cory became less and less understanding and more and more persistent.

"You know what? Forget this," Sonny finally said. "I liked you, Cory. I mean I _really_ liked you, but you have no respect for my morals."

The boy merely grunted as her reply.

"You're not being fair," she told him.

Cory closed his eyes, shutting his door and walking back towards her. "Listen, I don't want you to do something you don't want to, Sonny. But I also don't want to be treated like a pervert for trying to be intimate with my girlfriend."

Sonny frowned as Cory approached her. "You seemed to like it...I mean, you didn't stop me from kissing you."

"Kissing isn't a big deal. Your first time is."

"So it's true," Cory said, shaking his head in disbelief. "You do think you're too good for me."

"I didn't say that!" Sonny insisted. Why was he always jumping to conclusions and putting words in her mouth?

"Well, you implied it. I'm standing here, telling you that I love you, and you don't even know if I'm the one you want to be with. You're the only girl I've ever loved, Sonny. I poured my heart out to you, and apparently I don't mean the same to you."

"That's _not _true!" Sonny yelled, becoming exasperated at the way Cory seemed to twist her words around. "I do love you, Cory!"

"You love Chad," he spat. "He's the entire reason that we don't get along. Every time things are going good, Chad comes in and ruins everything. Well...why don't you just give your virginity to him, then?" Cory asked, his words dripping with venom.

Sonny scoffed—she had had enough. Enough of the fighting, the pressuring, the insinuations. "Well, he'd probably be a lot nicer about it," she finally said, her words being met with a hard, cold slap to her face.

Sonny stood in shock, her eyes watering as her hand went to her cheek. She was having a difficult time believing what had just happened. Cory had just hit her. Hard. Her ears were ringing, her cheek burning, and a dull throb began to radiate throughout her head. Slowly, she began to back away as warm tears began to trickle down her face.

"Sonny..." Cory began, reaching out to her, but the girl only backed away more quickly. "Sonny, I didn't mean to-"

"Get away from me," she warned him.

"Come on," the boy said. "I didn't hit you that hard."

"I thought you _loved _me. You don't hit someone if you're in love with them," she said, her voice trembling as she began to walk away. But Cory's hand reached out to grasp her arm tightly, preventing her from walking away.

"Sonny, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to."

"Let go of me."

"Listen," Cory said, finally turning the girl around forcefully so that their eyes met. "I'm so so sorry, okay? I shouldn't have hit you."

Sonny shook her head, looking away as Cory kept his grip on her arms.

He sighed. "The thing is that sometimes you say things, and I know the only reason you're doing it is to make me mad. It's not right, Sonny. You can't piss me off like that and not expect me to react to it."

She looked away from him, biting her lip as she continued to cry.

"It wasn't very hard; I just wanted you to stop talking like that."

Unable to find the words to say, Sonny finally ripped free from his grasp, bolting away from her boyfriend and tearing through the courtyard.

Cory sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. Shaking his head, he finally got into his car and quickly drove away into the night.

**III.**

"Did they get into a fight?" Connie asked Chad as he looked back at the woman with uncertainty. He nodded, keeping quiet. Mrs. Munroe rolled her eyes, obviously not too worried about the whole incident. "They get into these little spats a lot, Chad. They'll probably be back up here in a few minutes, laughing and holding hands.

"I don't know," Chad began. "Maybe I should go after her?"

Connie smiled, patting his shoulder. "Trust me, Chad—you don't want to get into the middle of a fight between those two. They can't seem to live with or without one another," she added with a chuckle, escaping towards the kitchen.

Ignoring Connie's advice, Chad headed out the door, slowly down the stairs, and across the front courtyard of the apartment building. It was completely dark out now, and there were no signs of Sonny or Cory anywhere, _and _his car was missing. Chad's heart began to thump wildly in his chest when he realized that she might have went somewhere with him.

The guy had always been a little jerk, but there was something about him Chad didn't trust a bit, and it wasn't just the fact that he was trying to get into Sonny's pants.

Realizing he wasn't going to find Sonny out in the darkened night anytime soon, he pulled his cell out of his pocket to send her a text. He looked up suddenly when he saw a shadow move in front of him, realizing that she was sitting on a stone bench beneath a tree only a few feet away. Flipping his phone shut and poking it back into his pocket, Chad wandered over to the brunette and sat down next to her on the bench.

Sonny didn't say anything, her head ducked down as the young couple sat quietly in the silence of the night. A shadow cast over Sonny's face, making her expression indescribable.

"Do you wanna talk about what happened?"

"Not really," she answered. Her voice quivered, and Chad could tell she had just been crying.

Chad looked down. "Listen..." he started. "I know that you don't think it's any of my business, but your my friend. This boyfriend of yours is treating you like crap-"

Sonny sighed, standing up, and she felt Chad's hand quickly reach to stop her. His grasp was warm and gentle, not a forceful or intimidating gesture like it had been with Cory. Biting her lip as she stared down at him, she finally sunk back down onto the bench.

"You need to end it with him."

"I love him," Sonny said quietly. She realized that after everything Cory had done to her, maybe she shouldn't be in love with him, but her feelings for him were out of her control.

Chad felt like someone had just stabbed him in the heart, but his warning was much more than just wanting to come between Sonny and her boyfriend—he was honestly scared about the way Cory had been treating her. "Sonny, you were clearly telling him no, and he wasn't listening."

She rolled her eyes. "You make it sound like he was forcing himself on me."

"Well..."

"Chad, he's told me time and time again that he's going to wait until I'm ready," Sonny assured him, wincing at the uncomfortable turn her conversation with Chad had just taken—never in a million years did she think they would ever be talking about _this._ "He just gets aggravated, that's all. Don't tell me you never pressured a girl into doing stuff?"

"No," Chad answered honestly. "I haven't."

"Well, aren't you a boyscout."

Chad let out a small snicker, before shaking his head. "Um, maybe you should talk about this with your mom..." he pondered out loud. He honestly didn't want to have this conversation with her, but someone had to tell Sonny what Cory had done was wrong,

"You didn't tell her did you?" Sonny instantly demanded. The last thing in the world she needed was her mom knowing her boyfriend was trying to get her to sleep with him.

"No...but maybe I should."

"Chad—don't. Just don't, okay? My mother always makes everything so much _worse_. She blows things way out of proportion. If she finds out, she'll be chasing after him with a pitchfork and a torch. I know what you heard probably sounded really bad, but he's not that type of guy, okay? And if you care anything about me, you'll keep quiet about this."

"Someone needs to take him down a notch."

Sonny rolled her eyes, pain radiating throughout her face. No doubt Cory's actions had reddened her cheek, and she was glad that right now it was dark enough for Chad not to notice. She would have to sleep on what had happened—Cory had taken it pretty far this time. Then again, Sonny knew good and well she should have never spoken the words that came out of her mouth that evening. She knew how her boyfriend felt about her and Chad, and it was a stupid remark to make. In a way, Cory was right—she was asking for it.

"I'm an adult, and I can handle myself, alright?" Sonny informed him before retreating back to her apartment, letting her dark hair spill over her face to mask the splotch on her left cheek. It was almost eleven now, and she knew her mother would be in bed, meaning she wouldn't have to explain what had just happened to the woman. As long as Chad kept his mouth shut, that was.

**X**

**A/N: **Well, I'm trying to write this realistically, so I hope it's turning out that way. Let me know what you think of it so far. Yeah, Cory becomes less and less likeable as the chapters go on, huh?


	13. Chapter 13

**Bad Company**

**Chapter 13; Part I.**

Sonny awakened the next morning in the room she now shared with her mother with a splitting headache. Her face still hurt where Cory had hit her the night before, and now she was also feeling quite queasy. Groaning in pain and fatigue, she rolled over on the cot that now served as her bed before swinging her legs over the side and standing up. She exited her mother's bedroom, soon discovering that Connie had left for work and Chad was not there. Then she remembered him saying something about hanging out with Portlyn that day, and retreated to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of juice.

Sonny held the ice cold cup of orange juice to her face, wincing in pain. It hurt even more this morning than it had the night before. She wondered if her face was still red, and whether or not her mother had noticed it that morning as she was getting ready to go to work. Sonny assumed if Connie had noticed, she most definitely would have waken her to mention it.

As Sonny walked towards the bathroom in hopes of relieving the pain with a long, hot shower, there was a knock at the door.

"Who could that be?" she mumbled to herself, making for the front door and swinging it open with a grumble. Sonny was surprised when a familiar-looking pair of blue eyes met hers, and she found herself face-to-face with a man in his early 20's. He was a bit on the tall side with brown hair, a good amount of stubble, and the most sparkling blue eyes she'd ever seen (With the exception of Chad's of course).

"Um, can I help you?" she asked the man uncertainly. He was standing with a small slip of paper in his hands, his eyes widening a bit as he stared at her before checking the number on the piece of paper once more.

"I'm looking for the Munroes," he said uncertainly. "Can you tell me if they live on this floor?"

"They live in this apartment," she managed, narrowing her eyes. She hadn't meant to sound so annoyed towards the man, but the ache currently pounding in her head kept her from greeting him more pleasantly.

"Oh. Well..." he began, for some reason not being able to drop his gaze from her face. "Is Chad here?"

Sonny shook her head. "No, he's not."

"Know when he'll be back?"

"I have no clue," she answered with a shrug. "He went out with a friend—they could be gone all day."

Frowning, the man's gaze finally fell from her face and down to the paper he held in his hand. "Could I borrow a pen really quick?" he asked, pressing the piece of paper against the frame of the door while Sonny quickly grabbed a pen from the desk. She looked over his shoulder curiously as he scribbled down a phone number.

"Can I ask you how you got our address?" she inquired, finding it a bit peculiar how he'd managed to find Chad. No one knew where he was staying with the exception of his cast and crew.

"His producer gave it to me," he said, handing Sonny back her pen.

"Why would he would do that?" Sonny pondered out loud. It wasn't as if the studio had the permission to give out Chad's information to any stranger who wandered in looking for it. If so, every girl in Los Angeles would surely be showing up at her door.

"He's my brother," the guy answered with a shrug. "Do you think you can give him this? Or better yet, to the woman who is keeping an eye on him?"

"Wait—Chad has a _brother_?" Sonny asked with wide eyes. "Why didn't he ever mention you?"

The guy shrugged. "I, uh, I don't know. Tell me, are you a foster kid, too?"

Frowning, Sonny shook her head. "No...why?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," he answered, "It's just that it looks like someone roughed you up pretty good."

"Huh?"

"Your face," he explained. "Did someone beat you up or something?"

Sonny's hand quickly went to her cheek. Her mouth went agape when she realized Cory must have hit her hard enough to leave a nasty bruise there. The man stood watching her curiously, noting the scared expression on her face. He frowned.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I was getting something out of the cabinet this morning. A can fell and hit me."

There was an awkward pause before he spoke again.

"Okay..." he went on, giving her a strange glance. "Connie's your mom right?" he asked and Sonny nodded. "Give her this number, okay? I'm not sure Chad wouldn't toss it out if you gave it to him, so we'll just keep this little visit between us, okay?"

"Why wouldn't Chad want to see you?" Sonny asked him curiously. "You're his brother."

He shifted uncomfortably. "We haven't exactly spoken for the past few years," he explained. "It's a long story, but I do want to see him. Have your mom call me." And with that, the man turned to leave.

Sonny stood staring at the number in her hand. _Chad has a brother. _A brother who he apparently doesn't speak to anymore. Why hadn't she at least heard of him? And was he as bad as his parents? He _seemed _like an okay guy, but appearances weren't always what they seemed.

Remembering that she hadn't even asked for his name, Sonny stepped out into the hallway. "Hey!" she called out to Chad's brother as he was heading for the stairs. "What's your name?"

He stopped to look up. "It's Chase. Chase Wells."

And with that, he was gone.

**II.**

"So how are things going at Sonny's?" Portlyn asked, taking a long lick of her ice cream cone as she and Chad walked away from the small dairy stand, meandering down the sidewalk.

"Good," he replied softly with a shrug.

"It's weird, Chad," Portlyn commented as he shot her a strange look.

"What is?"

"That you hid all of this from me; that you didn't come to me with your problem like I did with you. All of this time I thought the real reason you never invited me over to your house was because you thought I wasn't good enough.

"That's ridiculous," Chad answered her, reassuringly.

"But you never told me the truth about your parents. Why?"

Chad sighed as he reached up to scratch his head. "I don't know, Port."

"You didn't trust me?"

Chad sipped thoughtfully at his milkshake. "It's not that."

"You were scared?"

When he didn't say anything, the answer became obvious.

"Why, Chad? Why were you afraid to tell anyone?"

"I don't know. I thought I had done something wrong to make them always want to be gone," he finally answered. "I thought I was this huge screw up or something." 

"Why would you think that, Chad?" Portlyn asked him, suddenly feeling very sad.

Chad remained silent, walking for a bit before he finally felt comfortable enough to talk. "I was taking on all these roles to try to impress them. My career was really taking off, and not once did they ever make me feel like I was worthy of their affection. They always reminded me that I could do better, and before I knew it, I was burning the torch at both ends. I was working so hard at my job, and not once did they even _imply_ that they loved me. I was embarrassed because I didn't think that I deserved it," he added, staring at the ground. "But all that changed when I moved in with Sonny and her mom."

Portly watched Chad take a long sip of his milkshake, frowning. He had seemed preoccupied with something today. He assured her earlier that everything was fine, but his costar couldn't help but to notice that he appeared more than a little down that morning. Finally, Portlyn reached out to touch his arm, causing him to glance over to her. "Are you sure everything's okay, Chad?"

Looking down at the paper cup in his hand, he sighed. "Sonny and her boyfriend got into it again last night. I always knew they didn't really get along that well, but I found out that he's been putting a lot of pressure on her to..._do stuff_."

Portlyn raised her eyebrows. "Really...?"

"She doesn't think that it's any of my business, and maybe it isn't, but I'm worried about her. This guy she's seeing...he seems to have a bit of an anger problem." Chad stopped to lick his lips uncertainly. "There's something really familiar and unsettling about him. I just can't put my finger on it though."

Portlyn looked ahead as they continued to walk, absorbing everything that Chad had just told her. "Do you think he would, you know, take advantage of her or something?"

Chad shrugged. "Maybe. I don't even want him around her anymore. If I see him again, I might end up putting my fist in his face."

Portlyn smiled widely. "Oh my gosh, Chad."

"What?" he asked, becoming a little paranoid.

"I _never _thought I'd see the day when Chad Dylan Cooper actually let himself have feelings for Sonny Munroe."

"What!"

The girl threw her head back, laughing at his reaction. "Admit it: You've always had a thing for her, Chad. Now that the Munroes have taken you in and made you a part of their family, your love for her is blossoming!"

"Love?" Chad asked, exasperated. "Sonny?"

She nodded.

"There is something wrong with you."

"You like her," Portlyn assured him as she poked him playfully with her index finger. "You like her _a lot_. You worry about her, don't you? You like spending time with her. You care about her more than—dare I say it—yourself.

"She's a friend," he simply answered, looking away.

"She's a lot more than just a friend," Portlyn accused, shaking her head as she took another lick of her ice cream cone.

Chad rolled his yes. "Whatever."

Okay, sure, he liked being with Sonny. They had spent a lot of time together, and there was nothing wrong with enjoying that. And of course he was worried about her, why wouldn't he be? Her boyfriend was not trustworthy—the guy was a complete jerk. So...maybe that did mean he cared a lot about her. Maybe a little more than he tended to care about anyone else, namely...himself?

Chad groaned because it was plain as day—he was in love with Sonny Munroe.

"You just realized you love her, didn't you?" Portlyn asked with a smirk.

"Shut up," he warned, leaning over to steal a lick of her ice cream as she laughed.

**III.**

Sonny stared at herself in the mirror, grimacing as she studied the dark bruise that covered her cheekbone. It wasn't very large, but it was still going to be difficult to cover with makeup. She winced in pain as she dabbed a generous glob of concealer on the bruise, trying desperately to blend it away. Once the mark was no longer visible, she carefully set her makeup with a little loose powder.

She sighed as she studied her work. It was all too obvious that she was wearing a massive amount of makeup, but she assumed it was better than having her mother or Chad find out the truth. There was no doubt in her mind they would both overreact, and it was easy for them to assume Cory was a coldhearted monster who abused innocent girls without knowing the details of what had actually happened.

Not that what he did was _right—_Sonny knew in fact that it was not, but she hadn't treated him so well either. Sonny had to wonder what on Earth had possessed her to imply she would rather be with Chad than Cory.

True, as it turned out, Chad really was a nice guy. He wasn't the ego maniac Sonny had always assumed he was. Sure, he had a lot—scratch it, a ton—of self-confidence, but Sonny had begun to believe that maybe all of that self-confidence was just a front. And...she did enjoy being around him. But that didn't mean she wanted to be_ with_ him.

Sonny's phone buzzed with a text, and she flipped it open to find another apology from Cory. Sighing, she ignored it, just as she had done with the numerous texts he'd sent earlier that day. It was obvious that Cory felt awful about what had happened, Sonny just wasn't sure she was all that ready to forgive him right now.

And, as much as she hated to think this way, she wasn't even sure she should be with him anymore. She didn't like being afraid of Cory's reaction to everything she said or did. His mood seemed to change on a dime, and it was obvious he had problems controlling his emotions. Then again, her history with him proved he could also be a very sweet and caring guy.

Cory just couldn't seem to make up his mind what kind of person he was.

Sonny groaned in frustration, wishing that somehow she could talk to someone about what was going on. Chad and her mother wouldn't understand—Chad had already made up his mind about Cory, and once she had explained to her mom what had happened between them the night before, she would also be quick to judge. She needed advice from someone in a neutral area. Without a second thought, she picked up her phone and dialed Tawni's number.

"Oh my God, Sonny!" the girl exclaimed into the phone as soon as she answered. "You will not _believe_ how hot the guys in Miami are! It's unbelievable."

Sonny smiled at the first words Tawni had spoke to her in awhile.

"Too bad you're stuck with Cooper all summer long," she added, causing Sonny's smile to fade.

"I missed you too, Tawni," she said dryly. "So I take it you've heard about Chad."

"Uh...yeah! Everyone has. It's so weird that all this time we had no idea he had a drinking problem. Next thing you know, it's making news on a regular basis in 'Tween Weekly."

Sonny grimaced at her words. "Yeah, the media has been pretty relentless. Honestly though, it turns out that Chad really isn't a bad guy."

Tawni scoffed on the other end of the line. "Right. You expect me to believe that?"

"Really, Tawni! He's just...misunderstood. He hasn't had an easy life."

"He lives in a multi-million dollar mansion," Tawni pointed out. "His life is a lot better than ours combined."

Sonny rolled her eyes at Tawni's comment. It was easy to assume Chad's life was perfect, but she knew that in reality it was far from the truth. Sonny had a family that loved and supported her, and she knew that all the money in the world wouldn't mean anything without it.

"So how's your summer with Cory going? Hopefully Chad didn't try to scare him away like he did with your last date," Tawni said.

"Yeah, but trying to get rid of James was in both of our best interests," Sonny pointed out as she lie down on her bed, stretching out on her stomach. "And Chad and Cory aren't exactly getting along," she added in a low voice. "Actually, you might say that they hate each other."

"Wow, two guy fighting over you! You are so lucky, Sonny, even if one of them _is _Chad."

"Yeah...well," Sonny replied uncertainly. "Cory's getting over-jealous, and Chad's over-protective. It's a terrible combination."

"Wait, Chad is protective of you?" Tawni asked in disbelief. "I mean, I know he interrupted your date with James and everything, but I just assumed that he did it because he was a thoughtless jerk, not because he actually _cared_."

"Yeah, he says that Cory is bad news. He told me I should dump him."

"Don't listen to Chad," Tawni assured her. "You and Cory have a perfect relationship, and Chad is just an overbearing drama snob. It may be true that he's _trying_ to care, but to be fair, Chad is pretty selfish and probably doesn't really know how. He's just going to screw things up for you two."

"I don't know if our relationship is so perfect anymore," Sonny sadly admitted.

"Why is that?"

Sonny sat up, scooting towards the edge of her bed. "Can I ask you something, Tawni?"

"I guess."

Sonny began to wonder whether or not she should even ask Tawni about what was on her mind right now; she was ashamed of the fact that it even happened in the first place. Pausing uncertainly, she took a deep breath before deciding to finally continue with her question. "Have you ever had a guy become physical with you?"

There was a slight pause on the line. "Physical...how? Do you mean like physical displays of affection?" Tawni asked with a laugh.

"No..." Sonny began. "I meant physical in a dominate or threatening way."

Tawni didn't speak for a minute, and Sonny nervously studied her nails as she waited for a reply. "What are you talking about, Sonny? Cory's threatening you?" Her voice was low and serious—much to serious coming from a girl like Tawni.

"N-no," Sonny quickly said uncomfortably.

"Then what is it?" Tawni asked. "You're not trying to tell me something...are you?"

Sonny didn't like Tawni's tone at all. She sounded too much like Chad when he had asked about her wrists. Not wanting to go into the detail of her problem, she decided to end the conversation there. "Are you kidding? Of course not."

"Sonny-"

"Umm, I have to go now, okay? We should talk again really soon, though. I'll call you later Tawni," she rushed, hanging up the phone.

Sonny sighed. She was torn. She wasn't sure what to make of Cory's actions. She could either try to forgive and forget and hope that Cory's endless string of apologies were sincere, or she could get out now, lose him forever, and avoid the risk of getting hurt—and perhaps, falling in love—ever again.


	14. Chapter 14

**Bad Company**

**Chapter 14; Part I.**

"Did you know anything about him?" Sonny asked her mother the next morning as Connie studied the piece of paper Chad's brother had left the day before, her mother shaking her head. "No, all I know is that there weren't any other dependents in the house. What did you say his name was again?"

"Chase...Chase Wells."

"Hmm."

"Do you think he was lying about who he was?" Sonny asked.

"I'm not sure," her mother answered honestly. "It's hard to say whether or not someone would be trying to get to Chad with him being a celebrity and all. There's been a lot of talk about him in the press lately."

"All I know is that he looked like an older version of Chad," Sonny admitted. "With darker hair. But he had the eyes, the dimples, the teeth—everything," she said with a shrug. "But I guess we _could _just clear this up right now by going in there and asking him."

Connie quickly shook her head. "We don't know what type of guy he is even if he really is Chad's brother. Chase might be someone we don't want around Chad anyways. It sure has taken him a long time to come around. I'll call the number later and get to the bottom of this."

It wasn't long before a very groggy-looking Chad slowly made his way into the room wearing an old pair of sweats and looking positively exhausted. "There's Mr. Sleepyhead now," Sonny said giggle as she studied his tousled hair and tired eyes. "It's almost noon, you know."

Chad offered a small smile as he crashed down onto the sofa. "Portlyn wore me out. And not just with her mouth this time; we must have walked 15 blocks yesterday. The good news is that I've perfected my walking cast."

Connie cleared her throat, holding up the piece of paper before she walked back to her room.

"It feels like I haven't talked to you in two days," Sonny said as she sat down next to him. "You were gone when I woke up yesterday, and didn't even make it home until I'd already fallen asleep.

"I just needed to get out," Chad admitted. "I used to be so active, and it seems like all I do now is hang around this apartment."

Sonny smiled, until she realized how intently Chad was staring at her. "What?"

"Are you okay?" he asked her, looking at her peculiarly.

"Yeah, of course I am," she answered cautiously. "Why do you ask?"

She watched as he shook his head. "I don't know. You look different today," he noticed, and Sonny looked away, remembering the well-masked bruise that still marked her left cheek. Chad shrugged. "Never mind."

Sonny sure did _feel _better this morning, even though she'd spent close to an hour perfecting her makeup that morning. Her headache had dulled, and the stinging pain in her cheek was gone. "What are you doing today?" she asked Chad.

"I don't know. Sitting around here and getting some rest. I'm still tired."

She nodded. "I think I may go out with Nico today, and maybe Zora if we can get her to tag along. I haven't really talked to them at all over the past few weeks. I feel like I've really lost touch with the Randoms this summer."

"That's not necessarily a bad thing, Sonny," Chad joked, and she leaned forward to punch him lightly in the arm. "Just sayin.'"

"Chad I've been wondering," Sonny began shyly as she thought about her cast mates. "What happens when we go back to work?" she asked him, causing him to raise his eyebrows at her.

"What do you mean?"

"It's just, well, are we still going to be friends? I mean, I don't know if your cast will want us hanging out together."

Chad shook his head as he stared at the girl. "Are you serious? You think we'll stop talking just because of the silly war between our two shows? No way..."

Sonny smiled a little at the fact that Chad seemed so nonchalant about saying the sweetest words she'd ever witnessed him speak. "Really?"

He smirked. "Don't be dumb," he joked, giving her a playful shove. "You don't go through all the crap we did just to forget about ever being friends. We're really close now. I feel like I could tell you anything," he said, causing Sonny to look down at her lap. If only she really could tell him _anything..._

To be honest, Sonny did sorta want to tell Chad the truth. She needed to hear from someone—anyone—that just because a guy sometimes dealt with his anger in a physical way didn't necessarily make him a bad person. She wanted to know that Cory could overcome this, just as Chad was overcoming his alcoholism. Drinking had become a lifestyle for Chad, but it was never really _who_ he was.

If Chad could change, why couldn't Cory? It didn't seem like that far of a stretch.

Sonny bit her lip when she realized their conversation had taken a bit of a sappy turn. "I think I'm gonna go call Nico," she said, and Chad shrugged as he leaned forward to grab the remote and turn on the television.

**II.**

Later that afternoon, both of the Munroe women had gone out. Chad was glad they had finally trusted him enough to leave him alone. He knew that they were trying to make that particular fact a secret, but it was a bit obvious considering how much Sonny had been hanging out at home over her hiatus. That particular fact made him feel a bit guilty. She had given up her free time for him, and it wasn't supposed to be that way. She was 16—too young to be milling around her apartment all summer long looking after a guy five months older that herself and keeping him out of trouble.

Chad was lying on the couch and watching some zany Family Channel movie, his eyes drooping as sleep began to over take him. Right as he finally managed to nod off, there was a light knock at the door. Hoping whoever was at the door would give up and eventually leave, he pulled the blanket that covered him up a bit, snuggling down into the couch cushions once more, but the knock was heard again. Groaning, Chad threw off his cover, ran his hand through his messy hair, and flung the door open.

When he saw who was on the other side, he _really_ wished he would've never answered the door.

"Oh, uh, hey man," Cory said, holding a bouquet of bright yellow daffodils in his hand. "Is Sonny around?"

Chad narrowed his eyes at the boy, crossing his arms over his chest disapprovingly. "No. She's out."

"Oh," Cory managed, taking a step back. "Do you know if she'll be back soon?"

"No."

Cory paused uncertainly before speaking again. "No, she won't be back again, or no, you don't know?"

"Doesn't matter," Chad answered shortly, his brows drawing together.

"Hey man," Cory began. "I know you're probably really pissed about what you heard the other night-"

Chad snorted at Cory's obvious remark..

The brown-haired boy took a deep breath. "I love Sonny, okay? I have the utmost respect for her. I would never push her to do anything. I was having a crappy day, and I just wanted to be with her. I'm sorry for being an ass, okay?"

Chad shook his head. "No, it's not okay. You're being a complete jerk to her, and she's the sweetest girl I know. She doesn't deserve to be treated like crap on a regular basis."

Cory stared back at the actor apprehensively. "What exactly did she tell you?" he asked with a frown.

"She didn't have to tell me anything—I heard it all."

Chad narrowed his eyes when the boy appeared to look relieved.

"Why should she forgive you anyways?" Chad asked him. "You were a complete jerk to her."

"I know," Cory answered softly, swallowing hard. "I feel awful. I just wanted her to know how sorry I am. I've texted her 50 times over the past two days, and she didn't answer one of them. If she never wants to see me again—fine. I just wanted her to know that I was really sorry for what happened. I know that she's probably too good for me-"

"Well, you have one thing right," Chad spat. To anyone else, it would've seemed like a sincere apology, but Chad was able to see right through him. The only thing Cory was sorry about was getting caught. "You seriously aren't worth her time," he said before moving to shut the door, but Cory quickly stepped forward to stop him.

"Listen, can I just leave these here for her?" he asked Chad. "Whether or not she thinks I deserve a second chance is her decision, but more than anything, I just wanna apologize to her."

When the boy held the flowers out, Chad roughly pushed them back against his chest. "Don't come here again," Chad finally warned. "Don't call her, don't text her, and don't speak to her. Sonny is ignoring you for a reason: You're a liar and a prick, and she doesn't need any of your crap. If you so much as come _close_ to her and I find out, I'll make your life miserable. Got that?"

Cory stared back blankly as Chad swung the door shut in his face with a satisfying slam.

Sonny had told him to keep quiet about what had happened the other night, and he would. He did not, however, make an promises about not threatening that jerk she was dating. If she found out about what he'd just done, no doubt she'd be upset with him. Chad decided even if she did get get pissed about what had just happened, keeping Cory out of her life would undoubtedly be worth it.

**III.**

"You seem like you're in a good mood," Sonny commented when she found Chad humming along while cooking in the kitchen that evening. "I can't believe you're making dinner."

"Don't look so surprised," Chad said with a grin. "Can't the greatest actor of our generation be a good cook, too?"

"Sure, I guess. Watcha cooking?" she asked curiously, peeping over his shoulder and into the pot he stirred with a wooden spoon.

"Spaghetti."

Sonny laughed. "Chef Boyardee."

Chad stopped stirring to glare at her playfully. "Spaghetti can be a _very_ difficult thing to cook, you know. You have to get the noodles just perfect—not too hard, and not too soft."

"Right," she agreed with a giggle.

"But there's a method behind it," Chad said as he added a little salt to the pasta sauce warming on the stove.

"And what's that?"

A timer beeped, and he shot her a grin.

"Oh, an over timer. Why Chad, you're a genius," she remarked dryly.

"And now for the test," he went on, reaching into the pot and withdrawing a noodle. Chad took the long piece of pasta and flung it across the room, where it stuck to wall. "Perfecto."

"Nice. Now who's cleaning that up?" Sonny asked, her hand on her hip as she looked at him with warning.

"Hey, I made dinner," Chad said, holding his hands up defensively as Sonny laughed at him, shaking her head.

"Can I help you with anything?" she finally asked as Chad moved to drain the pasta.

"Make the salad?"

Sonny retrieved the cutting board from the cupboard and a knife from the drawer before moving to chop the vegetables Chad had already rinsed off and lay to the side. As she sliced a tomato, she glanced over to Chad, watching him as he tasted the pasta sauce with a grimace before sprinkling in a small amount of oregano. "Do you cook a lot?"

Chad shrugged. "Nah, not really. Sometimes when I got sick of take-out or microwave dinners, I'd try to whip something up. I'm not a great cook, but spaghetti is sort of my specialty," he admitted, looking back to his work. "I just felt like cooking tonight since your mom is working all those long hours, and your culinary skills are a bit...questionable."

"Hey, I can cook!"

Chad held up the wooden spoon in his hand with a smirk. "Says the girl who tried to cook a turkey and forgot to actually turn the oven on."

"That was a long time ago."

"It was last year."

Sonny laughed as she tore up some lettuce and added it to the bowl. "So...what are your parents like when they're at home?" she asked him casually. Sonny knew the question had come out of the blue, and judging by the present look on Chad's face, it wasn't one he wanted to be asked.

Clearing his throat, he leaned over to take a loaf of garlic bread out of the oven. "Everything's pretty much done," he went on, choosing to ignore her question. "I'll set the table while you finish that. I guess your mom should be back pretty soon."

Sonny felt a bit guilty for popping off a question about his parents when Chad was still dealing with the fact they were gone. She found it strange how the boy who 'could tell her anything' still didn't feel like going into the details of what his mother and father were like. Eventually, it would all come out. His parents would be under investigation, and no doubt Chad would be in the tabloids once again over the whole ordeal. The thought of it all made her sad.

Sonny continued to slice a onion, glancing over to Chad as he took a stack of plates out of the cabinet, not watching what she was doing as the tip of the knife managed to make a tiny slice through the tip of her finger. The knife was quickly thrown to the counter top with a loud thud as she cried out in pain.

"Are you okay?" Chad asked her, placing the stack of plates back down on the counter as he rushed to her side. She was holding her hand protectively, a small stream of blood pouring through her fingers. "Let me see," he demanded, reaching for her hand.

"D-don't touch it!" Sonny winced in pain as he gingerly removed the injured hand from her grasp before studying it carefully.

"Wow, you got yourself good," he said in awe, which, for some reason, only made the piercing pain in her finger intensify. The young actor quickly wet down a washcloth with warm water before wrapping her finger carefully and applying pressure to it. "Hold this. I'm gonna go get the first aid kit."

Chad was back in seconds, gently patting Sonny's finger dry before disinfecting it. He then placed a square of cotton on her finger tip before pulling the gauze from the first aid box. His grasp on her arms was warm and gentle as he circled the spool of gauze around her finger. Soon, the bleeding managed to slow as Sonny stared at him in wonder at how gentle his actions were. Chad taking care of her was so..._different. _Not necessarily in a bad way, and it was definitely something she could get used to. Once the girl's finger was securely bound, Chad leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on the bandaged-covered tip.

Sonny blushed as Chad let her arm drop from his grasp.

"Sorry," he offered. "Something stupid my grandma used to do for us when we were kids."

Sonny thought about what Chad had just said; he had unwittingly used the term "us" again. "It's okay," Sonny assured him, "Thanks, Chad."

Chad nodded as he turned back to setting the table.

Since his realization the day before, Chad found himself looking at Sonny in a completely different way. There was a moment while he held her smaller hand in his own, her cheeks flushed as he delicately bandaged her wound, where he found himself suppressing the urge to kiss her. Luckily, at the last second, his lips had landed on her finger instead. Chad had to shake the feelings he was having right now, remembering that Connie was his foster mother and Sonny was very much off-limits to him. As hard as Chad had fallen for her, kissing Sonny was undoubtedly out of the question.

"Hey kids." Chad and Sonny looked up, quite pleased with their dinner presentation as Connie entered the kitchen through the swinging door. "Sonny, you cooked! This is such a surprise," the woman gasped as she held her hands over her mouth dramatically.

"Actually, Chad did," Sonny admitted. "And he's quite the chef," she teased.

"But Sonny did add a good amount of blood to the tossed salad," Chad joked, and Sonny smiled quietly to herself.

"Well thank you, kids," Mrs. Munroe went on. "It was very sweet of you."

Later that night, when Chad had retreated to his room to work on new script ideas, Connie pulled her daughter aside.

"I found out some information," she said quietly. "Chad does have an older brother; he's 22 years old, he's Chad's half-brother, and has been working at a cannery in a remote part of Alaska for the past nine months. As it turns out, news reaches there pretty slowly, and then he had to convince his boss to let him return to L.A. to check up on his little brother."

Sonny's eyes widened in surprise. "So he really is Chad's brother," she pondered. This _could _be good news, considering that it had been thought that Chad had no close relatives nearby.

Connie nodded. "He's coming over this weekend to visit Chad. I guess the two are estranged, but Chase seems competent and is very concerned about his brother. He heard all about the nature of the car accident and Chad's troubles with alcohol. If things work out between the two, Chase is interested in becoming Chad's legal guardian."

"But...what about his parents? They're not going stay gone forever."

There was a slight pause before Connie chose to speak again. "The Cooper's are at serious risk of loosing custody of Chad when they return. Their negligence towards their minor son is apparent, and there will be a court hearing to decide whether or not they are fit parents."

"How do you think Chad will take that?" Sonny asked. "He doesn't seem to really want to talk about them, but do you think he'll get mad about the court pulling him out of his home for good?"

Connie shrugged. "This can be a hard thing for foster kids to go through, even if they were living with neglectful or abusive parents. It's what's best for him, though. If he goes back to live with those people, it will be all too easy for him to turn to drinking again. I think neither of us wants to see that."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Sorry for the delay on this. I have to be honest and say that I don't know if I'm really feeling this story. Something seems wrong with it. I think it's a combination of it being written in third person and the fact that the storyline is a bit cliché. And, for some reason, I decided to leave Tawni out of this one. I'm starting to find that she's a necessary person for my fan fiction. Kind of the go-to person for offering Sonny advice. The good news is that I have another fic planned for spring/summer. I'm sorta excited about it, and it will have a Sometimes Always-ish vibe to it (M-rated).

Oh, well. Let me know what you think. I'm too close to finishing to discontinue this fic. I like some chapters better than others. This one was a bit of a filler, but the next one will be pretty eventful. I won't say more than that. :)


	15. Chapter 15

**Bad Company**

**Chapter 15; Part I.**

Sonny walked quietly along the walkway until she could see Cory standing patiently across the street at the same cafe where they had met up many times before. Smiling softly to herself, she waited for traffic to clear before making her way across the street. It seemed like she had been reliving the same moment over and over again the past few weeks: Cory would get angry about something having to do with Chad, blow up at Sonny, and then apologize profusely over the next few days before she finally agreed to see him again.

The dark-haired boy didn't say anything as Sonny approached him, instead pulling her into a long hug before backing away to move her hair from her face.

"You look nice," he offered. Sonny had to remind herself that the only reason she even looked presentable today was because of the massive layer of makeup she still found herself applying every morning. While the bruise had faded significantly over the past few days, the tell-tale sign was still there.

"Thanks..." she said softly, wondering where to go from here.

"Um, did you tell Chad I was meeting you this morning?" he asked her cautiously.

"No, he's out," Sonny answered with a frown. The truth was the she hadn't wanted to tell him, afraid he would judge her for forgiving Cory so quickly. "What does it matter?"

"It doesn't," he said with a shrug. "It's just that...he sorta threatened me the other day when I stopped by your apartment."

Sonny stared at him, confused. "You stopped by my apartment?" she asked him. "When? And what do you mean by 'threatened'?"

"Three days ago," he answered her. "The day you answered my text while you were out with Nico and Zora. He, uh, he implied that if I came around you again, he might have to give me a beat down," he said with a chuckle. "I'm not worried about it or anything; I just don't wanna deal with all of that right now. I think we need some alone time to concentrate on us."

Sonny bit her lip as she tried to imagine Chad being violent with anyone, but she couldn't.

"It's okay, Sonny," Cory assured her when he could tell she was thinking hard about what he'd just told her. "He's just looking out for you. He cares about you, just like I do," he assured her.

"I suppose," she replied uncertainly.

"Oh, I have a little something for you," he added, pulling a small, red velvet box from his back pocket and opening it to reveal a silver ring set with a dazzling green jewel. "It's peridot—your birthstone," he added with a grin. "I was going to give it to you on your birthday next month, but I just couldn't wait."

Sonny held out her hand as she allowed him to slip the ring onto her finger. "It's beautiful, Cory."

"It's also sort of a promise ring," he admitted sheepishly. "Not just a promise that we'll be together forever, but also a promise that I'll never do anything to hurt you again. I was...way out of line the other day."

Sonny studied the ring on her finger with a smile.

"You have to know that I love you more than anything," he added. "I'm so sorry for what I did to you. You didn't deserve it, and I really hate myself for what happened. I should have never gotten angry with you, and I was wrong to ever insinuate that you and Cooper ever had anything going on. I know you don't have a thing for him; I've just been feeling really...inadequate, I guess. I feel like you could do so much better than me, but at the same time I'm so scared of losing you in my life."

Sonny nodded as she pondered Cory's apology.

"I'm not certain that I even deserve it, but do you think that you could forgive me?" he asked her.

Sonny felt a tear slide down her cheek as she thought about everything she and Cory had gone through over the past few weeks. Chad's ordeal had been extremely hard on everyone. Not that she regretted her mother taking him in—she was immensely glad that she was able to help Chad overcome his problems. But it had taken a huge toll on both Cory _and_ her relationship with him. Cory didn't have the highest self-esteem, and believing for one minute that Sonny would prefer Chad over him must have been heart-breaking.

"Of course," she said with a smile before the boy pulled her against his chest, his hand smoothing down her back as she relaxed into his arms. This was the sweet, gentle Cory she had fallen in love with. Sonny knew that Cory wasn't a _bad_ person. His emotions were just bigger than him, and she knew that it was those intense emotions that were the cause of his anger problems.

Sonny could tell by the way that he held her now that he meant every word that he had said. Finally, they would be able to get over their rocky past and focus on the future of their relationship.

"I do trust you, Sonny. I know I've had a lot of jealousy issues, but I've really been trying hard. I'll never hurt you again," he promised. "You have my word."

**II.**

Chad met Sonny in the hallway of her apartment building that afternoon. He couldn't help but to notice that she seemed a bit apprehensive about something—as if she'd just been caught doing something she shouldn't have.

"Have a good day?" he asked her, and she nodded. "You mean to tell me Tawni didn't drive you crazy on your shopping trip?" he added with a laugh, and Sonny ducked her head.

So, she hadn't been _completely_ honest with Chad where she was going today. He didn't like the idea of she and Cory together, and Sonny opted against filling him in on the truth about where she had actually been today.

"Nah," she assured him. "I'm used to it by now."

Chad smiled as he reached for his house key, and Sonny moved to stop him. "Mom's already home, actually," she told him, knowing well that his older brother was already waiting inside their apartment. "She took off early today."

For a minute, Sonny debated whether or not to warn Chad that Chase was there waiting to talk to him for the first time in years. While the reason for their estrangement was still a mystery, Connie suggested that Sonny not fill him in on the fact that not only did Chase want to see him, he was also planning on taking the needed steps to become Chad's legal guardian. It was hard to say whether or not the information would upset Chad, and they had both been trying to keep his life as stable as possible.

With a shrug, Chad opened the door as Sonny followed closely behind him. His body visibly stiffened when his eyes landed on the familiar face in front of him. Connie was sitting on the couch with his step-brother, talking over a cup of tea. Chase looked up as Chad stepped into the room, a warm smile plastered on his face.

"Little bro," he began with a grin. "Crap, look at you. You're even taller than me now."

Sonny placed her hand on Chad's shoulder as he began to back away. "What's he doing here?" he asked, his voice full of resent.

"I came here to see you, dummy," his older brother stated casually. "Geez, I seriously can't believe how grown up you are now. Last time I saw you, you were still obsessed with Pokemon," he added with a laugh.

Chad turned to Sonny, hurt evident in his eyes, and the girl instantly felt awful for springing this all on him.

"Come on, sit down," Chase insisted, patting the seat next to him.

Chad shook his head as he stared back at his older brother. "So now you finally decide to come around, huh? What? Do you need money or something?"

Connie's smile faded at the sudden intense vibe felt throughout the room, and she looked to Sonny with discomfort.

"Dude, you were in an alcohol-related deadly car crash. I came to make sure you were doing okay."

"After four years?" Chad spat. "Why even bother?"

"Still a smart ass, I see," Chase commented nonchalantly, rolling his eyes. "I guess some things never change."

"You need to go," Chad insisted. "You need to get out of here right now."

Sonny soon found herself holding Chad's bicep reassuringly as his muscles tensed beneath her fingers. His hands were balled into tight fists, and she could see the pure hatred in his deep blue eyes. She had seen him angry many times before, but this Chad frightened her.

"Listen, Chad," Chase began, standing up and walking slowly towards his younger half-brother. "I can pretend that we have this amazing brotherly relationship, but we both know it's bull. Here's the thing: You are in a crap load of trouble. Our mom and your dad are going to be back in two weeks, and you can't go back to live with them. They are going to lose custody of you."

Chad quickly looked to Mrs. Munroe for reassurance. "Is that true?" he asked her, and she nodded solemnly.

"You can't live here forever, buddy. This is a foster home, and they move kids around from home to home on a regular basis so they don't get too attached. I'm here because I want you to come live with me."

"In Omaha?" Chad scoffed. "No way in hell."

Chase groaned. "It's still all about your 'career,' isn't it?" he asked, shaking his head. "Chad this is your life. Screw _Mackenzie Falls_, you can't stay here. I have a place that's plenty big for us both. They have a great school system, and you can probably even go to college."

Chad shook his head at his brother with disgust. "My show is the only thing I have. I'm not just going to give up my dream to come and live with my jerk of a step-brother. You left, Chase. I thought I could count on you. You knew what kind of people mom and dad were, and you left me with them," Chad said, his voice cracking.

"You _know_ why I had to go, Chad. I wanted you to come with me, but you were so dead set on being some freaking superstar," Chase said, raising his voice. "So stop acting like I abandoned you!"

Sonny could feel Chad's body trembling. "I was 13, Chase. You knew what it would be like for me. Grandma was sick, and I had _no one_. You didn't even come back for her funeral!" he yelled.

"She wasn't my grandma-"

"She loved you just the same! She raised you, and you didn't even have the decency to come see her in her dying days."

Chase sighed. "Chad, come on. What are you planning on doing? You're a foster kid with no place to go."

Sonny grimaced at Chase's choice of words. She knew that he meant well, but he was only driving Chad further away.

"I'll get emancipated," Chad quickly said. "You can help me with that, can't you Mrs. Munroe?"

Connie looked back at him in discomfort. "Chad, emancipation isn't that easy. Plus, there's the fact that you're a recovering alcoholic. It would be difficult to convince anyone that you should live on your own right now."

Feeling as if his stomach were twisted tightly in a knot, Chad glanced towards the brunette girl at his side who still held his arm tightly in her grasp.

"You know what? Forget this," he said, tugging free of her grip. "I'd rather be homeless than live with you, Chase," he spat, bolting from the apartment and racing down the steps as quickly as his he could in his walking cast.

Sonny sighed as she stared back at her mother. "I had a feeling this was a terrible idea," she groaned before taking off after Chad.

She found him outside on the sidewalk, pacing agitatedly with his hands stuck down into the pockets of his cargo shorts. It was apparent just how upset he was when he moved to wipe away a tear from his face. Chad _was not_ a crier, and seeing his brother for the first time in four years had undoubtedly been a very emotional event for him. Sonny knew when she found out about Chase that Chad probably didn't get along with his brother, but she hadn't realized exactly how much tension there really was between the two.

"Chad?" she began, approaching him cautiously. "Are you okay?"

He closed his eyes before taking a deep breath. "I can not believe you let them do that to me."

"I didn't want to. They made me."

"No one forced you to do anything!" he screamed, causing her to jump and cower away from him. Chad ran his hand over his face in anguish. "Sonny, I'm sorry."

Sonny grimaced."No, I'm sorry, Chad," she began. "I knew this would upset you, and I let them do it anyways."

Chad sighed heavily, sinking down onto a nearby park bench. Sonny carefully followed in suit, placing her hand on his leg in an effort to comfort him.

"When I was a kid, Chase used to take care of me," he began to explain. "Mom and dad were always gone, and he was all that I had. It was always him and grandma—they were my parents."

Chad's sad blue eyes met hers as he spoke.

"Then grandma got sick, and it wasn't long after that when Chase turned 18 and decided to leave. He wanted me to go with him, but I was auditioning for Mac Falls, so I stayed. Until today, I hadn't seen him since I was 13. He moved to Nebraska, and never once did he bother to see how I was doing. Our parents were _awful_ to him, and he just left me with them without a second thought," Chad mumbled begrudgingly. "He didn't even care what happened to me."

Sonny smoothed her hand up Chad's arm, causing him to inhale a deep breath of air.

"I don't wanna go back home," Chad admitted with a choke. "I know how it feels to have a real family, and I just don't want to go back to...that. I don't wanna move away with Chase either, but judging by what your mom just told me, it looks like I won't have much of a choice."

Sonny could feel tears threatening to fall as she watched Chad stare sadly at his lap. "I won't let them make you do anything, Chad. I don't care what anyone says—I'll make sure you can stay her as long as you want to."

"You're mom might think otherwise, and I don't know what I can do. I'm still a minor, which pretty much means I have no say in anything."

Chad was surprised when Sonny leaned forward to wrap her arms around his torso, and he sighed as he leaned into her embrace, hugging the petite brunette in return. "You're, like, the only person who even understands," he said with a sarcastic chuckle. "Not that I don't appreciate everything your mom has done for me—I just don't think she gets how hard it would be for me to just forget about the past four years of my life."

Sonny broke away slightly to stare up at him, Chad reaching up to push her messy bangs from her eyes. Their eyes had only connected for a few seconds before Chad cupped her chin in his hand, finally leaning forward to place a simple kiss on her lips.

It was euphoric. The softness of Sonny's cherry-flavored lips, the steady thump of her heart beating quickly against him, and the light scent of her perfume stimulated each of his senses. Sonny gently grabbed Chad's wrist that cupped her chin as their lips melded together, and he moved his arm around her back needfully, tightening his embrace on the girl. This kiss was everything he'd imagined and more, and the five seconds they remained that way were the best five seconds of his life.

But it wasn't long before Sonny had finally allowed herself to pull away from him, her fingers going up to her lips in shock over what had just happened.

Chad had just kissed her.

And while she should have stopped him as soon as it started, she hadn't. Not only had she _not_ stopped him, but her lips had moved perfectly in time with his own.

Her mouth went agape as she looked at Chad in horror. "That really shouldn't have happened," she said with an intense look of guilt in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Chad began, and Sonny quickly stood up from her seat beside him.

"I'm supposed to be part of your foster family, Chad. I don't think you know how much trouble my mom would be in if anyone found about what just happened." The statement was partially true—foster siblings weren't allowed to be involved romantically, but her mom wouldn't exactly be reprimanded over one little kiss.

"Sonny, I wasn't thinking," he began. "Maybe it shouldn't have happened at all, but I have feelings for you," Chad admitted softly. "I like you more than a friend or a..._foster sibling_," he said, shuddering at the term. He would never, ever think of Sonny as his _sister_.

"Then you need to ignore them, Chad," she quickly said. "We can't do this. This is so beyond wrong."

Chad felt his heart sink as he watched her storm away. Somehow, Sonny Munroe had made him feel on top of the world, only to push him down into despair again in only a few seconds.

**III.**

Sonny burst into tears when she realized what she'd done.

It was not supposed to happen like this. All of the accusations Cory had made, all the worrying about her having something going on with Chad, had just been proven true. Cory had poured his heart out to her by telling her the truth, only to have Sonny go behind his back and kiss Chad.

She was a liar, a cheater, and a terrible girlfriend.

Sonny tried to calm her nerves as she sunk down at the bottom of the steps of her apartment, shaking in fear when she imagined how angry Cory would be with her if he ever found out what just happened. She couldn't tell him—if snapping of some silly comment about Chad was enough to make him hit her, how would he react when he found out they had kissed?

Sonny choked back a sob as she thought about it. Somehow, in someway, she would have to find a way to prove her love for Cory. And as much as she knew she wasn't ready for it, Sonny knew that meant finally taking their relationship to the next level.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **An extra quick update since I had so many reviews yesterday. We're nearing the end now. I probably have about four chapters left of this. Thanks for the encouragement to keep writing (even though I did say I would be finishing this lol). I'm extremely glad people enjoy reading it—it makes all of the work of writing a story well worth it! :)


	16. Chapter 16

**Bad Company**

**Chapter 16; Part I.**

Chad sat at the kitchen table that morning, sulking. His life had been looking up as of late, but somehow everything seemed to have come down in a spiral that week.

Chase was back in town, Sonny was acting awkwardly towards him after their kiss, and according to the paparazzi, he was still out partying every night. Chad knew the rumors weren't true, but it the accusations certainly weren't helping his career any.

Chad groaned as he buried his face into the palms of his hands.

Connie watched the distraught boy from the kitchen doorway before stepping forward and placing the palm of her hand on his back, causing Chad to look up at her with sad blue eyes.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" she asked him, sliding down into the chair at his side.

"Not really," he admitted.

"Worried about your court date next week?"

"That's sorta the least of my worries right now. I already know I'm going to lose my license and probably have to do a bunch of community service."

"Once you start serving your sentence, things will start to go back to normal," she promised.

"Not likely."

"You're still upset about Chase," Connie commented, and Chad looked away. "I'm sorry for not preparing you better for his visit. I had talked to him a few days before, and I just wanted you to hear him out. If I knew it was going to upset you this much, I wouldn't have went about it the way that I did." When Chad didn't bother to look up, Connie sighed. "I care a lot about you, Chad. I want you to be able to trust me. You don't have live with Chase if you feel so strongly against it—I just want you to have a real conversation with him before you make up your mind."

"I hate him."

"He's your brother, Chad, and he loves you," Connie said softly. "I was weary of letting him talk to you before I found out his intentions. He's scared for you, Chad. I know that he messed up a long time ago, but he seems to have his reasons. He's an adult now, a member of your family, and he just wants to help."

"I don't need his help," Chad insisted. "I'll be 18 in eight months; why can't I just live by myself until then?"

"Because you need guidance, Chad. That has been the root of your problems all along. You were on your own for too long, and there was no one to keep you from turning to alcohol. Chase is a good person, and he can steer you in the right direction."

When Chad didn't say anything, Connie decided to continue. "I was invited to a old friend from Wisconsin's wedding this weekend. I didn't think I would be able to make it, but Chase wants to give the idea of you two living together a little test drive. Sonny's staying at Tawni's for the night, and I think it might be a good idea to let Chase stay here for a couple of days to get an idea if this could work out."

"You want him to babysit me?" Chad asked, grimacing.

"Not exactly, Chad," Connie said with a weak smile. "But you know I can't leave you alone for that long, and this would be your opportunity to get to know each other again and talk things out. Do you think you might be willing to give it a try?"

Chad stared at his hands, shrugging. "I don't _want_ to, but if it makes you happy..."

Connie smiled as she reached forward to pat his shoulder. "Thank you for giving him another chance, Chad. I'll go give him a call."

Chad rolled his eyes at the very thought of it—an entire weekend with _Chase_. Wouldn't his sentence be punishment enough?

**II.**

That weekend, Chase showed up as promised. Sonny had already left for Tawni's house earlier that day, and Mrs. Munroe was heading en route to the airport shortly after Chase arrived at her door.

Chad didn't pay much attention to his brother as Connie went over a few details with him—where she'd be staying, the number where he could reach her, and she had even handed him some money for groceries, which he politely declined.

Chad made sure to give Mrs. Munroe a quick hug before telling her to have a safe trip and then sunk back down onto the couch, turning on the television to drown out his half-brother's presence.

"She seems like a nice lady," Chase commented before sitting down next to his brother.

"She is," Chad mumbled without looking up.

"This should be interesting," Chase began."I'm glad you gave this another chance."

"Yeah?" Chad said angrily, finally looking up. "Well, don't flatter yourself. I'm only going along with this so Mrs. Munroe can go to Wisconsin. I haven't changed my mind about Nebraska, and I'm not going to either."

Chase sighed as he leaned back. "You always have to make everything difficult, don't you?"

Chad finally slammed the remote he held in his hand down onto the table in front of him. "You're an idiot. You know that? You leave for four years, come back out of the blue demanding to become my legal guardian, and you don't expect me to get upset about it?"

"We both know where I'd be right now if I stayed, Chad."

"Did you consider for one second where _I _would be? You didn't care if what happened to you happened to me, too?"

"You were their golden child, Chad," Chase quickly said. "I knew it wasn't going to happen to you as long as mom was forcing you onto television. There would be too much talk about it if you were going to the studio covered in welts and bruises."

"Just a chance you were willing to take, huh?" Chad spat. "They could have turned on me at any moment, just like they did you."

Chase paused uncomfortably as he studied his younger brother."Did they?" he asked, his voice filled with concern.

"No," Chad replied gruffly. "They didn't."

Chase looked relieved as he relaxed into the sofa. "I love you, Chad. I worried all the time about you. I was afraid that if I tried to call home or visit, your dad would get mad and take it out on you. I thought the best thing for us both would be if I just stayed away. I figured that if they didn't have to deal with me, they would leave you alone."

"Oh, they left me alone alright," Chad said with a sarcastic laugh. "For about eight months last year, and a grand total of six months this year so far. And we aren't even in August yet."

Chase stared sadly at his younger brother. "I'm sorry, buddy. I should have stepped in earlier. You shouldn't have had to live the childhood they put you through. At least I had grandma when I was your age."

His brother's words caught Chad's attention, and he finally looked up.

"But this accident, it happened for a reason, Chad" Chase said. " It was a wake-up call to us both. You needed to deal with your drinking problem, and I needed to get my head out of my butt and make sure my little brother was being taken care of."

"I'm fine now," Chad insisted.

"You're sure?" Chase asked. "Alcoholism doesn't just suddenly go away on it's own. People can deal with this sort of thing for an entire lifetime."

"I don't drink anymore."

"Do you ever feel the urge to?"

Chad sat quietly as his brother's intense gaze remained fixed on him. He could just lie, Chad thought to himself, and maybe Chase would just leave him alone about it. But for some stupid reason, he felt obligated to be upfront about the question.

"Yes," Chad finally admitted. "When I'm having a really crappy day, sometimes it's the only thing I can think about. And honestly, if I had easy access to it, I would probably be drinking a lot right now. It's an easy fix for the anxiety in my life."

There was a long pause, and Chad felt ashamed for what he'd just admitted. The hell he'd went through over the past several weeks, all the AA meetings, and his promise to Connie and Sonny, hadn't gotten him anywhere.

But then his brother said something surprising. "I'm proud of you," he told him.

Chad raised an eyebrow. "For what?" he spat. "Being a teenage drunk?"

Chase shook his head. "For being honest about it. You just admitted that you still have a problem, and you can't get help with a problem you don't think you have."

Chad's eyes softened at his brother's words. "I guess."

"I may have been M.I.A. For the past four years, Chad, but I'm here now, and I just wanna help you through this. Maybe our childhood was crap, but that doesn't mean that me and you can't have a real family now," Chase insisted. "And I have become quite the philosopher having spent my summers in the Alaskan wilderness. So...just unload any messed-up, unsolvable problems you're having right now on me," Chase insisted with open arms, finally receiving a grin from his younger brother.

Chad chuckled a bit. "Well, I kissed my foster sister this week. How's that for starters?"

Chase frowned. "The cute brunette? You're kidding."

"No, but I wish. It completely freaked her out," he admitted with a sigh, feeling a piercing pain in his heart.

"What's with her anyways?" Chase asked, stealing the remote from his brother and turning the channel. "She get into scraps a lot?"

"Sonny, fight?" asked Chad with a laugh. "You obviously don't know her too well. She wouldn't—no, scratch that_—couldn't_ ever hurt anyone."

"Ah," Chase said with a laugh. "Couldn't defend herself, huh? That makes a lot more sense."

Chad sat back, pondering what his brother had just said before frowning. "What are you talking about?"

Chase glanced over at him before narrowing his eyes. "Whatever fight she got into over a week ago. You know? The nasty bruise on her face?"

Still frowning, Chad sat forward and looked at his brother in confusion. "Sonny doesn't have a bruise."

"She did when I stopped by," Chase insisted. "Seemed kinda weird about it when I mentioned it. Seriously, how could you not notice it? I mean, the girl's flawless, and she has this huge black and blue splotch beneath her eye. It didn't look right on her, that was for sure."

Chad thought hard about what Chase was telling him, but it didn't make any sense at all. "You mean the girl I was with the other day? The one who followed me outside?" he asked and Chase nodded. "You're sure?"

"I'm not blind, dude. She said a can fell out of the cabinet, but it was pretty obvious someone had hit her," Chase insisted. "Maybe she was caught macking on someone's boyfriend or something."

Someone's boyfriend. Sonny would _never_ do that. Why on Earth would anyone even _want_ to hurt her? She was so sweet and innocent, and no one ever got angry with her over _anything_.

Except Cory.

The wheels in Chad's head began to turn in an instant: The endless arguments, the bruises on her wrists, how scared she'd been of him at his mansion, Cory's anger problems...

Chad's eyes widened when he realized what had been going on between the two—Cory was hurting her.

"Dude, are you okay?" Chase asked him, and Chad bolted up from the couch.

"I am going to kill him."

Chase quickly rose from his seat. "Kill who?" he asked as Chad reached for the cell phone tucked into his back pocket, his fingers already quickly pressing numbers.

Chad frowned when his call went directly to Sonny's voice mail without ringing.

"She's not answering," he said worriedly, holding the phone beneath his chin in concern as he began to walk back and forth across the room. Chase quickly caught his younger brother's shoulders, bringing him to a stop.

"Chad, what's going on?" he asked in a serious tone.

"Sonny's boyfriend—this total douche—is beating the crap out of her."

"Are you sure?"

"God!" Chad exclaimed, ignoring Chase as he groaned at his own stupidity. "It was right in front of me. The entire time I've been here, he's been beating her up!"

"Chad, calm down," Chase warned him, his voice low. "You may be jumping to conclusions here."

"The girl I love is getting smacked around; how am I supposed to calm down?" Chad demanded. "I need to talk to her, but her phone is off," he began before turning to his cell phone again and dialing Tawni Hart's number.

"Chad, you're not even sure if-" Chase went to say before Chad held up his index finger to quickly cut him off.

"Ugh, Cooper?" Tawni asked in annoyance once she had answered her phone. "What do _you_ want?"

"Put Sonny on the phone right now, Tawni," Chad demanded.

"And how am I supposed to do that?" she asked him. "I'm on the other side of the country."

Chad's face paled at her answer. "She-she's not with you?"

"Uh, no. I'm in Miami. Duh!"

"But she's been hanging out with you all week," Chad began to say, before quickly realizing what was going on.

"Umm, no. I don't even leave for another two weeks," Tawni said apprehensively over the phone. "Chad, what's going on over there?" she asked him in a worried voice.

Somehow, Chad finally managed to snap himself out of his daze to answer Tawni's question. "Tawni, I think Sonny's in trouble."

"Cory..." she began.

"You know about this?"

Tawni paused slightly before answering. "Sonny called me a couple of weeks ago. I wasn't really sure what she was talking about at the time, but she asked me if I'd ever had a guy "get physical" with me. She wouldn't say anything, but I got the feeling that maybe it was happening to her and that was why she asked."

"Oh, God..."

"Chad, where is she?"

Chad sunk back down onto the couch in shock. "She was supposed to be staying the night at your place," he said, feeling nauseous.

"Then that means..." Tawni began.

"That means she's with Cory."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **My very special President's Day update (since I don't have class today).

Wow, I realized after I uploaded this how short it turned out. I apologize for that. I bought an new used laptop, and while I love it, there is no word count feature. But I was happy with how this flowed, and opted against adding anything. We'll find out what's going on with Sonny during all of this in the next chapter. And don't worry, the rating will definitely not change, so don't freak about it getting M-rated.


	17. Chapter 17

**Bad Company**

**Chapter 17; Part I.**

Sonny sat nervously in the passenger-side seat of Cory's car as they pulled up into the parking lot of an outdated motel.

"I know it doesn't look like much," he said with a smile and a shrug. "I wanted this to be really special, but it's the nicest one I could afford in L.A."

The brunette comedian nodded nervously before the couple exited the car.

So, this was how it was going to happen. Sonny never imagined that her first time would be like this—with a guy she hadn't been dating for very long in a shady-looking motel as a spring-of-the-moment decision. She had always imagined it happening senior year, after prom (or in her case, maybe some type of formal dance held at the studio after her cast mates had completed their studies). And, most importantly, it was supposed to be with someone that she loved.

Sonny Munroe shook herself of that thought. She _did_ love Cory, didn't she? Of course she did, Sonny tried to convince herself. She wouldn't be doing this if she wasn't in love with him. Then why was she trying to hard to convince herself of that fact? When you're in love, isn't it something you just _know_ without having to think about it?

Sonny attempted to snap herself out of the second thoughts currently running through her head as Cory approached the desk to request a room. She smiled, nodding nervously to the knowing staff as Cory paid for the room with his debit card before guiding her to the elevator that took them to the second floor.

Sonny stood back, biting her lip as she watched Cory unlock their suite door with his key card. "You coming?" he asked her with a grin as she stared at him apprehensively.

"Y-yeah."

Sonny tried to remind herself why she was doing this. She had cheated on him—the absolute worst thing you could to to someone you were supposed to be in love with. Cory had told her the only reason he even _wanted_ them to sleep together was to show her how much he did love her, but did that really make any sense? Why couldn't two people be in love without feeling like they had to have sex?

Cory dropped their bags onto the bed before pulling Sonny into his arms, their lips connecting as he guided her towards the bed. His hands rested on her hips as Sonny bashfully pulled away.

"I love you so much," he assured her, cupping her chin in his hand. "We've waited a long time for this."

Sonny nodded, smiling softly. Well, most of the waiting was on _his_ part, and not so much hers. Deep down, Sonny knew that she could certainly wait longer; this was never something she had planned to do so rashly.

Cory leaned forward, kissing her again in the same way he had done so many times before. But for some reason, there was something different in the way that Cory kissed her now. She hadn't noticed it until after her kiss with Chad, but somehow Cory's kisses just felt so...empty, as if lacking an _real_ feeling. When Chad had kissed her, Sonny felt as if she were overflowing with emotion—like she had just realized how strong her feelings for the blonde-haired actor really were. And, to be honest, those feelings had scared her.

Maybe that was why she had pushed him away after it happened. She felt awful for kissing him behind Cory's back, but at the same time, there was something about that kiss that seemed so _right_.

She felt safe with Chad, and it had become too difficult to feel the same about Cory. Could she really have a relationship with someone who she was scared to be around?

"You okay, babe?" Cory asked he as she stared back into his eager eyes.

"I, uh..." she began uncertainly. It was now or never—if they kept going now, there would be no turning back. No second chances to make her first time be with the one she really, truly loved. It was a hard thing to accept, but she just didn't feel the same about Cory as she did Chad, and there was no denying that fact.

"I can't do this," she finally admitted, tears forming in her eyes. "I just...I can't."

Cory's face fell as his hand slipped from her chin. "Sonny...the room's been paid for. I just spent 200 dollars on this place," he began, anger becoming evident in his voice. "Why would you change your mind now?"

When Sonny saw that Cory's warm brown eyes had been replaced with the cold look of resent, she began to tremble. They were alone, locked in this room without a soul around.

"I'm not ready," she answered softly.

"This was your idea! Why did you even tell me you wanted to do this in the first place?" he demanded with a groan. "To lead me on? Come on, Sonny! This isn't fair, and you know it."

"I-I'm sorry, Cory," she began, chocking back a sob. "I didn't mean to dash your hopes like this."

Cory shook his head at his girlfriend in disgust. "Why do you keep putting me through this?" he demanded. "Is this some sort of sick game for you? Every time I think I'm finally going to have a mature relationship with you, you go back to being a frightened little girl."

Sonny stared at her shoes, ashamed.

"Why can't you just let yourself be with me?" he demanded. "Dammit Sonny, I'm in _love_ with you, and you don't even want to be with me!"

"It's not that, Cory!" Sonny quickly snapped in anger, her tears falling quickly. "I wanted to be with you more than anything. That's why I did this!"

"You're a little _tease_, and it's not funny anymore. You can't just promise me something and then change your mind about it at the last minute!" Cory screamed. "Why are you doing this? Why do you insist on playing with my heart like this?"

"Because Chad kissed me, and I felt guilty about it!" she finally spat, watching as look of horror cross her boyfriend's face. She hadn't meant to tell him, but the truth was already out. She began to back away as Cory quickly cut the distance between them.

"What did you say?" he asked her dangerously, his chest bumping in to hers as they met.

Sonny winced, stumbling backwards until the angry boy had backed her up into the corner. Cory was now fuming, and standing so closely that their toes met.

"He kissed me," she finally had to admit, turning her gaze away from her enraged boyfriend's. "I didn't mean for it to happen; he just sprung it on me."

"Did you kiss him back?" Cory demanded in a low voice as Sonny choked on her sobs. "Did you kiss him back!" he screamed this time, causing the brunette in front of him to duck away in fear.

Her lack of an answer was all he needed to hear before finally snapping.

Cory quickly reached up, wrapping his large hands around Sonny's thin wrists and immobilizing her. It was the same dominant move he'd used before to scare her. Unable to break free from Cory's tight hold on her, Sonny knew she was in for it. If she would have just lied to him. If she would have just listened to Chad when he warned her to break up with him, then none of this would be happening right now.

**II.**

"You need to calm down, Chad," Chase said, trying to reason with his brother after he'd just hung up the phone with Tawni. The younger boy was freaking out now, pacing about the room in a frightened panic.

"Chase, she's going to do something stupid," he said with a grimace. "She's all alone with him right now, and if he does something to her..." Chad held his stomach weakly as the image of Cory forcing himself on Sonny played through his mind.

Chase placed his hand on his younger half-brother's shoulder reassuringly. "Okay, do you know where this guy lives? Where they could possibly be at right now?"

Now on the edge of tears, Chad shook his head solemnly. "I don't know."

Chase stood back, sighing as he ran his hand through his hair in anguish. "Okay..." he began uncertainly. "Keep trying her cell. What's this guy's last name? We'll look him up in the book."

Chad frowned as he grabbed his phone, his fingers dialing the familiar number they had dialed hundreds of times before. _Dammit_. He knew that one of these days refusing to remember names was going to catch up with him. Okay, so maybe he could call Nico or something? The guy had been an extra on So Random a couple of times now, and one of Sonny's cast mates had to have some clue what Cory's last name was-

_Ring_.

Chad was shocked when Sonny's phone actually rang—it wasn't turned off anymore, and now if she would only answer it.

He silently pleaded that Sonny, wherever she was, would just pick up the phone right now.

Soon Chad could hear someone breathing on the other end of the line, and he let out the breath he'd been holding when he realized she had finally answered. "Ch-Chad?" Her voice was so small and weak, and that alone set off an alarm.

"Sonny, where are you?" he demanded, perhaps a bit too forcefully. When there wasn't an instant answer, he found himself practically screaming. "Sonny, tell me where you're at!"

"I-I'm at the Belleview Motel," she finally answered, her voice shaking as she stifled a sob.

"Are you okay?"

"N-no," she admitted. "Chad, h-he..." She was unable to go on, and Chad's hand balled into a tight fist as he listened to her break down through the phone.

"Hang in there, okay?" Chad quickly said, ushering Chase out the door. "We're on our way. Do you need an ambulance?"

"I-I don't think so," she had calmed herself long enough to answer. Chad swallowed back his tears—that wasn't exactly the answer he was wanting to hear.

"Sonny, what did he do to you?" he asked, not completely certain if he actually wanted to know.

"Chad, I don't wanna..." she began uncertainly. "I'm in the lobby, and there's people around. Please just hurry. I just want to get out of here," she said before the line went dead.

"She okay?" Chase asked as Chad followed him out of the apartment building and towards his car.

"No..." he said, taking a seat in the passenger-side of Chase's SUV.

"Do you think he messed her up?"

"Yeah," Chad said in a low voice. "I'm scared he might have done more."

Chase pulled his vehicle out onto the road, giving his brother a worried glance. "You mean...?"

Frowning, Chad nodded.

"Maybe she's okay," Chase replied reassuringly, and Chad remained silent for the rest of the car ride. Just the thought of Cory putting his filthy hands on her made his stomach churn. He was so stupid for not having figured out Sonny's problem earlier. The way she flinched whenever he became angry, or moved too quickly towards her, and those bruises... Girls don't get bruises like that around their wrists for no reason. Now Sonny was alone, beaten up, and possibly taken advantage of. And there wasn't a damn thing he could do to change what had already happened.

**III.**

Sonny was balled up on a couch in the lobby when Chad bolted through the front doors of the hotel. As if it weren't bad enough that the lady at the desk was watching her awkwardly, now TV's Chad Dylan Cooper was here.

He stood in front of the counter, glancing around frantically with his brother by his side when his eyes finally landed on her. Sonny sat quietly on the sofa, her arms hugged around her body and her hair draped over her face. He was at her side in seconds, sinking down on his knees and softly pushing her long, tangled hair from her eyes. He instantly noticed the small stream of blood which ran from one of her nostrils down to her top lip.

"Oh God," he gasped when he realized how badly her face had already begun to bruise. Chase stood behind him with an uncomfortable look on his face, the sight in front of him bringing back too many unwanted memories.

Curious murmurs were heard from behind the front desk, and Chase shot the small group of employees that had formed there a look of warning, causing them to disappear into the backroom.

"I told him about..." Sonny implied, still crying hard. "He was so mad, and no matter how much I apologized, he just wouldn't stop."

"Where does it hurt?" Chad asked, wondering how much damage the boy had inflicted on the petite brunette. Cory was tall, and so much bigger than Sonny. It was too easy for him to harm her, leaving the girl with little means of defending herself.

"M-my stomach really hurts," she admitted, and Chad slowly lifted her shirt up slightly to reveal the red marks and bruises that began to form on the trunk of her body. He could feel the bile rising in his throat at the very sight of her injuries and the thought of how anyone with even a fraction of a conscience could do this to _his_ Sonny.

"She needs to go to the Emergency Room," Chase informed him. "She could have broken ribs or something. Can you walk?" he softly asked her, and Sonny nodded uncertainly. But as the battered girl began to stand with Chad's help, she doubled over in pain, sinking back onto the couch once again. Her body was bruising and swelling quickly, making her movements even more painful.

Without a second though, Chad kneeled down to scoop Sonny into his arms.

"Chad, your leg," Chase quickly reminded him, but he was already standing and heading quickly towards the door carrying her. He could feel Sonny trembling against his chest as he made for Chase's car, her face buried in the crook of his neck as she clung tightly to him.

Once the couple had situated themselves in the back of Chase's SUV and the vehicle was in motion, Chad looked down sadly at the frail girl who sat nestled in his arms.

Sonny had calmed down a little, but her body still ached painfully, and she felt as if she were about to get sick. She recalled how Cory had pinned her down, and how frightened she felt when she knew he was about to strike her. There was no reasoning with him what-so-ever—Cory saw red, and there was absolutely no stopping him after that. Sonny looked up at Chad when she felt his eyes on her, and the blue-eyed actor shifted uncomfortably where he sat.

"Sonny," he began, in almost a whisper, glancing towards Chase to ensure that his attention was directed towards the road in front of him. "Cory didn't..?" he started to ask uncomfortably. He didn't even want to _think_ about what could have happened in that hotel room, but the truth was that the circumstances made it a possibility, and it was something Sonny would eventually have to deal with. "He didn't...you know?"

Sonny quickly shook her head in reply, knowing exactly what Chad meant and wanting to dismiss the idea of it immediately. "He didn't harm me like that."

"You can tell me, Sonny," Chad assured her softly. "If something happened that you're afraid to talk about, you don't have to be scared to tell me."

"Nothing happened, Chad."

Chad nodded in relief, though he knew that a lot more than "nothing" had happened to Sonny up in Cory's hotel room tonight. He had hit her. He had hit her until the point she needed to be taken to the hospital. Worst of all, the reason that Sonny's boyfriend had beaten her so savagely was entirely his fault—it was all because he had decided to kiss her.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Wow! I had got so many reviews within an hour of posting my last chapter. I was so happy! (And they were all so _nice_!) And yeah, I was still having word count woes writing this one. Chapters 16, 17, and 18 sort of go together, but I'm breaking them up. If I didn't, the chapter would be 20 pages long, and it would take me about a month to write (One long chapter takes me longer to write than than three short ones for some reason). Plus, it just flows that way. There are two more chapters after this one—one regular chapter, and an Epilogue. I'll _probably _have this finished by this time next week.


	18. Chapter 18

**Bad Company**

**Chapter 18; Part I.**

Chad sat in the waiting room of the ER as Chase looked for a parking place outside. Sonny had been in with the doctor for awhile now, and Chad had yet to hear about the condition of her injuries. She was in a lot of pain, that he knew. No doubt it would take awhile for her to recover from this—Cory hadn't held back one bit. Chad knew that the police would probably be here to talk to her soon, as they always did in these type of cases.

Chad looked up as Chase walked through the sliding doors, plunking himself down next to his brother in one of the uncomfortable waiting room chairs.

"Any word yet?" he asked.

Chad shook his head. "They took her to Radiology. They said we should be able to see her once she's back."

Chase nodded.

"I can't help but to feel that all of this was my fault," Chad admitted. "He did this because I kissed her."

"How were you supposed to know she'd get beaten up for it?" Chase pointed out. "It's not like you knew he was hitting her."

Chad sighed, because Chase had just inadvertently pointed out another reason for him to feel guilty. "Why didn't I notice this earlier? I see her everyday, but for some reason I missed that her boyfriend was some abusive bastard."

Chase shook his head at his younger brother. "Chad, you can't blame yourself for this. Sonny did a pretty good job of hiding it all. We both know how determined someone can be at harboring the fact that they're getting smacked around."

Chad looked forward, nodding in agreement. "Grandma died never knowing the truth."

"I thought it was for the best," Chase admitted. "I was young, and I was afraid of what would happen if it got out."

"I just wish Sonny would have told me," Chad said with a sigh. "Why didn't she trust me with this?"

"It's not that easy," Chase began to say when a nurse finally came out.

"She's back from Radiology. You boys can go in and see her now," she said before leading them out of the waiting room. "We'll be moving her to a room soon, but I thought you probably wouldn't want to wait much longer."

"You're keeping her overnight?" Chad asked with a grimace. "Her injuries must have been pretty bad to be admitted to the hospital. I was hoping she'd get discharged tonight so we could take her home."

"It's just so we can keep an eye on her," the nurse assured him. "She has a concussion—it's just procedure for this type of injury."

Chad nodded, taking a seat in the chair next to Sonny's bed as Chase followed in suit. The bruising on her face and the ones on her arms had darkened significantly over the past few hours, but the ER physician's assistant had cleaned up the small cuts on her face and secured them with a butterfly bandages to prevent any scarring. Luckily, none of the lacerations were bad enough for her to require stitches.

"How are you feeling?" Chad asked her as he reached for her hand. He didn't like the way she flinched as he moved towards her, but Sonny finally relaxed once his hand was gently holding her own.

"Better," she replied in a tired voice. "They gave me some powerful painkillers. They said that my ribs aren't broken, which is surprising. They hurt pretty badly, but I guess they're just bruised."

"Some good news," Chad agreed.

"Chad...thank you," Sonny said softly. "After it happened, I didn't know what I was supposed to do. I thought that you'd get mad at me for not listening. He just left me there, and I-" she started to say before choking up again.

"Hey, it's okay," he quickly shushed her. "This isn't your fault, okay? There's only one person to blame for this, and right now that coward is out hiding somewhere with his tail between his legs."

"The nurse told me that there's an officer on his way," Chase assured Sonny. "Once you file a report and they take some photos, he's going to be charged with battery. He won't get away with it again," he promised.

Sonny's face paled slightly at Chase's words. "Is Cory going to get into a lot of trouble for this?"

"He'd better," spat Chad, and Sonny quickly pulled her hand from his grasp. Chad frowned. "What's wrong?"

"He's not going to jail, is he?" she asked. Chad's mouth went agape, and he wasn't quite sure he could believe what he was hearing. Sonny actually looked concerned about the fact that Cory was going to get in trouble for this.

"Sonny, he beat you up," Chad scoffed. "Why are you worried about this guy? He's been treating you like a punching bag for the past several weeks!"

A lone tear slipped down Sonny's cheek as she listened to Chad's harsh words towards her. "I know that what he did was wrong, but Cory isn't a terrible person," she quietly insisted. "And it wasn't _entirely_ his fault—I did something to set him off. I kissed you while I was still dating him, and there's no reason why he shouldn't have gotten mad about that."

Chad shook his head, his brows drawing together in disbelief. "God dammit, Sonny!" Chad finally shouted in shock. "You have a concussion; you're in the _hospital_ for Christ's sake! What does it take for you to realize that this guy is a complete jerk?"

Sonny winced uncomfortably as Chad rose his voice towards her. He didn't mean to sound so harsh towards the girl while she was still in so much pain, but it was becoming increasingly difficult for him to suppress his anger over the situation. Sonny was still defending her boyfriend after he'd left her beaten and bloodied on the floor of a dirty hotel room.

Chad ran the palm of his hand over his face in discontent as Sonny quietly stared at him, sniffling a bit. He felt his brother's hand come down to clasp lightly on his shoulder. "Hey, buddy, maybe you should go give Connie a call."

"This hospital already did," Chad informed him.

"Yeah, but her flight just got to Wisconsin. She's probably freaking out right now, and she just needs to hear from someone other than a nurse or doctor that Sonny's doing okay. You've known her for awhile now, and the words will mean more coming from you."

Chad shook his head uncertainly, causing Chase's hand to squeeze his shoulder reassuringly. "I'll stay here with Sonny. Just please, go give her a call."

Running his hand through his hair, Chad nodded before slipping out of his seat and retreating towards the waiting room. With a sigh, Chase took his place, glancing at the upset brunette in front of him.

"Listen," he began. "I know this guy used to be your boyfriend. I imagine he probably declared his love for you and all of that..." he went on, Sonny staring at him. "But he beat you up, and it happened more than once. Sure, Chad kissed you, but that is no excuse for what he did. I don't care if my brother stuck his tongue down your throat with this Cory guy watching, he never should have laid a finger on you. You need to talk to the cops, and you need to be completely honest about what he's been doing to you. He's going to go to jail, but he deserves it."

Sonny shook her head with uncertainty as she tried desperately to fight back her tears. "I can't..."

Chase closed his eyes for a second, willing the strength to tell the frightened girl what he knew she needed to hear right now. "When I was your age," he began, "my step-dad used to rough me up all the time. He would always apologize right afterwards and promise me it'd never happen again. Sometimes he'd go out and buy me some big expensive gift to make up for it," Chase began, causing Sonny to stare uncomfortably at the promise ring that she still wore on her finger. "Every time he said he was sorry, I believed him because he was the only father I ever knew—he was supposed to love me. But things never got better. Every time he beat me, it was even worse than the time before. Before long, he didn't even feel guilty about what he was doing. He'd hit me with no reservation whatsoever, and it went on that way for a really long time."

"Ch-Chad's father did this to you?" Sonny asked him in disbelief.

Chase nodded. "I never told anyone because I knew I'd feel guilty if he got arrested or ended up in prison. One day when I was 17, he totally flipped out on me. He beat me so badly that I ended up in the hospital with a broken eye socket and internal bleeding. I could have died. I told the doctor that I was mugged walking home from school. I turned 18 a few weeks later, and that's when I left. Do you know what happened after that?"

"Chad..." Sonny began.

"They treated Chad like crap. He didn't get the beatings I did, but they've been leaving him to fend for himself since he was 13. He was a kid, and he had _no one_—no one to come home to, to cook him dinner, to take care of him when he was sick. Every time I think about all the crap he's gone through over he past four years, I realize that if I would have just spoken up about the abuse when it was happening, Chad wouldn't be dealing with any of this crap. He wouldn't have had to raise himself, he wouldn't have turned to alcohol when things got too hard, and he would have never gotten into that car crash."

Sonny sat quietly while she absorbed what Chase had was telling her.

"You need to tell them, Sonny. You owe this guy _nothing_. He'll do it to someone else, and it could be even worse next time. You don't deserve anything that's happened to you, and neither does anyone else."

Sonny nodded solemnly. "O-okay," she agreed, and Chase let out a sigh of relief before sitting back in his seat. "Don't feel the least bit guilty about this; you're doing the right thing," he assured her.

**II.**

It was almost four in the morning before Sonny had spoken to the police and was finally settled into her hospital room. Chad sat next to her as she spoke to the two police officers, leaving the room only when they had to take photographic evidence of her injuries. It was hard for him to listen to the story of how Cory had become more and more abusive until the point where he had finally blown up at her in the hotel room. Many tears were shed, and Chad's heart ached when he realized how much she'd endured over the past few weeks.

Chad stayed at her side the entire time, and the two sat quietly as they waited for Chase to return from the cafe down the street. Fatigue was getting the best of him, but he had refused to leave Sonny alone for even a minute. He remembered how scary it was to be alone in the hospital after a serious injury, and he did not want Sonny to experience that same feeling.

Chad smiled slightly as Sonny's eyelids began to droop, and she fought desperately to keep from falling asleep. "Don't fight it off. You've been up all night, and you need to sleep to heal," Chad said as he leaned over to kiss her lightly on her bruised forehead, causing her to smile up at him.

"Thank you for everything, Chad, but you really should go home to get some sleep yourself. You've been sitting in that hard chair for hours now, and I know you're getting tired, too."

Chad shook his head, refusing. "I'm not going anywhere," he promised.

Sonny only smiled more brightly at his reply. "You're too good of a friend," she assured him, biting her lip awkwardly at the word she'd used to refer to him. "Chad, something occurred to me when I was with Cory tonight..." she softly admitted. "I-I was trying to figure out why I didn't want to be with Cory in the way he wanted me to."

"You weren't ready," Chad said with a shrug.

"That wasn't the only reason," Sonny confessed, a slight blush tinging her cheeks. "I...I realized that all along," she began apprehensively. "All along, I've had feelings for you, too."

Chad's eyes sparkled at her words. "Y-you do?"

Nodding, she couldn't help but to smile at the realization. "Just being with you makes me happy. You never judge me or make me feel bad about myself," she admitted quietly, causing Chad to stare at her curiously. "And, most importantly, I feel safe when I'm with you. I know that I can always trust you."

"Of course," he replied, nodding in agreement.

"You're brother made me realize tonight that..." she began, pausing unsurely for a second. "That Cory really messed up my head over the past few months," she said in a low voice.

"Sonny-"

"I know, I know—I haven't completely lost my mind or anything," she said with a playful smile. "But I think I've finally realized how out of touch I was with reality by making excuses for him like I did. He...got into my head. I feel like I wasn't even myself when I was with him," she admitted. "The old me would have never stayed with a person like Cory, and I honestly believed that I deserved everything he'd done to me."

Chad frowned, looking down at his lap. Her story was almost _too_ familiar, he realized. He'd believed for years that he wasn't worth of his parents' attention, when in reality they had been selfishly neglecting him. It had taken him weeks of living with the Munroes to realize that there was nothing he could ever do that would please his parents, and they would never see him as anything but a burden.

"I want to be with you, Chad," she told him, causing him to look up at her as he tried desperately to contain a smile. "But I can't...not right now. I just feel like I really need to find myself again. I'm afraid that if we tried for a relationship right now, I'd just end up even more confused," she admitted.

He nodded slowly. It hurt for him to hear the truth, but Sonny was right—things were much too complicated right now for both of them.

"When I'm at the point where I think that I can be in a relationship with you, I really want to give it my best effort. I mean, I don't expect you to wait around until I'm ready, but-"

"I'll wait as long as it takes," he assured her, quickly grasping her hand in his own again. "I don't wanna be with anyone else. I don't even like the thought of not having you in my life. There was a point tonight after I realized what was going on with Cory that I couldn't get a hold of you. I knew you were alone with him, and I had no idea how far he would go..." he trailed off, swallowing hard and quickly shaking his head. "I really don't even want to think about it anymore."

"I'll be okay, Chad," she assured him. "Cory's going to get arrested. I'll have to go to court and testify against him, but he's out of my life now. Forever."

Chad nodded. "I'll never let _anyone_ hurt you again," he promised.

Smiling, Sonny slid over on the mattress a bit, motioning for Chad to slip into the bed next to her. With a slight smile, he obliged, placing one arm behind her shoulders and carefully draping his other over her lower stomach. He rested his chin on the top of Sonny's head as she snuggled into his chest. His eyes closed as he sat deep in thought, relishing in the feeling of finally having Sonny lying safely in his arms after hours of worrying. Before long, Chad felt the girl breathing heavily against him, and he knew she'd finally fallen asleep. Chad smiled at how good it felt to be with her, even though he wasn't really _with her_ in the way he wanted to be. He promised her that he'd wait until she was ready to be in a relationship, but until then, he'd be there for her as a friend.

"Knock, knock," Chase said softly from the doorway as he smiled in at his brother. "I've got coffee," he whispered. "And it's cold now," he added with a slight laugh. "She's out, huh?"

Chad nodded. "I'm staying here."

"I figured as much," Chase said, placing the cup of coffee on the bedside table and sinking into a nearby chair. "I think I'm gonna go get some sleep and come back in the morning to pick you up. Any word on when she's getting discharged?"

"She has to stay at least 24 hours," Chad answered. "Probably not until tomorrow morning."

Chase watched curiously at how securely Chad held Sonny in his arms. It was amazing seeing his younger brother spring into action to help her, and he could see that the bond that had formed between the two was tight. Chase felt a twinge of jealousy thinking about all the years he'd missed out on watching his little brother grow up. He always thought he and Chad would be close, but sadly the abuse had driven them apart.

"You know," Chase began casually, crossing his leg over his knee. "I've been kinda thinking, Omaha is great and all, but the town's a bit too slow-paced for me. I kinda miss the excitement of L.A.," he admitted.

"Yeah?"

Chase nodded. "So...what would you say to getting a place here in the city with me? We could find an apartment or something. I don't make a _ton_ of money, but I was thinking of starting up my own outdoor shop. You Hollywood types enjoy fishing and camping, don't you?"

Chad laughed quietly. "You're asking the wrong person," he said. "But you're serious?"

Chase nodded. "The thing is though, you'd have to be cool with me being your legal guardian. I have to be honest in telling you that I'm going to be a complete hard-ass, especially when it comes to keeping you away from alcohol."

With a slight smile, Chad nodded in agreement. "Sounds good."

Chase stood up from his seat, patting his little brother on the back before leaving. Chase would pick up where their parents had left off all those years ago, and slowly but surely, life would get back to normal for them.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Sorry for not instantly putting them together, but I thought it was a bit unbelievable considering that Sonny's boyfriend just beat her up. I really couldn't imagine them kissing after something like that. Next chapter is the Epilogue. :)


	19. Epilogue

**Bad Company**

**Epilogue.**

It had been a long three months for Chad Dylan Cooper. Days after Sonny was discharged from the hospital, he'd had his court date over his underaged drinking charges, resulting in both the suspension of his license for one year, a hefty fine, and 30 hours of community service. It hadn't been long after that that Chad was back in court, facing off with his parents over their child neglect case, which resulted in the Coopers permanently losing their parental rights. It was a bit of an emotional roller coaster seeing his parents for the first time in over five months while being forced to testify against the terrible things they had done to him.

Chad's parents had denied everything, of course. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper had told the story in court of how Chad had been an out-of-control teenager who disappeared for days at a time. However, there was too much outstanding evidence working against them, especially when Chase Wells took to the stand.

Even to Chad's own surprise, after hearing the judge rule in favor of removing him from his home permanently, he had broken down in court for the first time after weeks of descriptive testimonies against his parents. These were the same people who were responsible for bringing him into the world after all, and somehow making it official that they were no longer his parents had sent him into tears. Chase was by his side throughout the trial, enveloping his younger brother in a hug as the ruling was read.

It was for the best, Chad knew. He'd never forget the tears Connie and Sonny Munroe shed for him when he met them outside the courtroom that day. Connie had been the first to hug him, telling Chad she was proud of him and would always be there if he needed her. Sonny's hug lingered a bit longer than necessary, not that Chad minded the least.

Despite how cliché it sounded, now Chad felt that he really _did_ have it all—a job he had a passion to do, a guardian that loved him, and, most importantly, the love of the kindest, most beautiful girl in the world.

Chad lie back on his bed, still adorned in his Mac Falls private school uniform. His eyes closed as he tried to ward off the fatigue of another long day at the studio. He smiled as he felt a small fingertip lightly trace the scar on his forehead, his eyes opening to curiously glance up towards the giggling brunette looming over him.

"I like your scar," she said with a smile, laying on her stomach diagonally across the bed and resting her chin on the palms of her hands. Chad stared back at her, smirking.

"You do, huh?"

"Yeah, it makes you look so...bad."

"Hmm," he said, raising his eyebrows and gently moving his hand through her dark chestnut hair. "You know, the one on my leg is about ten times more gruesome," he informed her. "How's that for bad?"

"Well, you look the part," Sonny admitted, before wrinkling her nose. "But you definitely don't have the personality of a bad boy."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, but I like sweet Chad," she insisted, moving up to snuggle into his arms. "The more I've gotten to know the real you, the more I've realized you really are like Mackenzie."

Chad laughed at her comment. "Except my heart is only big enough for one girl," he said, leaning forward and gently kissing her on the lips. They lingered that way for a few seconds until the sound of Chase clearing his throat from the hallway could be heard.

"Alright you guys," He said, peering in at the young couple. "Just checking in. Making sure there's no hanky panky going on in here," he tried to tell them seriously, while obviously holding back a smile.

"Hanky panky?" Sonny mouthed to Chad with a grin.

"It's fine, Chase," Chad insisted. "We're just cuddling; a completely innocent gesture."

"Mmm hmm," Chase answered, skeptically. "But just to be safe, you keep this door open while Sonny's here. I'm not raising any nieces or nephews while you're both out gallivanting around Condor Studios."

Chad rolled his eyes at his older brother before winging a pillow his in his direction, causing the older boy to dodge away from the object with a chuckle. "Alright guys, I trust ya," he admitted before retreating towards the living room.

"He's a bit over-protective," Sonny acknowledged with a laugh.

"He keeps a watchful eye on my every action," Chad admitted. "I hate to break this to you, but bank-robbing and hostage-taking are completely out of the question as long as I'm living with him."

"I think I'll survive," Sonny admitted, leaning forward to kiss him again. Chad moved to push a strand of hair out of her face when they parted, frowning when Sonny flinched, pulling back suddenly.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, blushing. It wasn't the only time she'd been frightened by Chad making a sudden movement towards her. It was killing him to see the fear Cory had instilled in the once confident and carefree girl. Sonny had been in therapy for weeks now, and though it appeared she was learning to deal with everything that had happened to her, sometimes she still seemed frightened of him.

"It's okay, Sonny," Chad insisted. "This sort of thing takes time to go away."

"I-I know," she began. "But I love you, and at the same time..."

Chad frowned.

"I don't feel like I'm a very good girlfriend," she finally admitted with a sigh. "We're supposed to be holding hands, and doing all of this cuddly couple stuff. But instead, I just get scared. I can't imagine how hard it is for you to be with someone like me."

Chad shook his head vigorously. "Don't say that, Sonny. It kills me when you talk like that."

"But it's true."

"Sonny, you went through something extremely difficult. You told me that your therapist said you were doing better. And you do _seem_ more comfortable with me touching you now. Just because Cory's paying for what he did doesn't make the memories of everything that happened to you instantly disappear."

Sonny shrugged unsurely, just hoping Chad was right.

"Some days I still feel really guilty for what happened to my parents," Chad suddenly admitted. "And sometimes I still feel like I need a drink. But I'm working through it one day at a time."

Looking up at her boyfriend, Sonny managed a smile.

"We'll get back to normal," he promised. "Not entirely, of course, since we're dating now, but..."

"Because pranking your significant other isn't very becoming," Sonny added with a slight laugh, and Chad wrapped his arms securely around her, resting his chin atop her head and taking a deep breath.

"It's a long journey, and we'll get there soon enough," he promised. "But for now, I guess we'll just have to lean on each other sometimes."

Smiling, Sonny nodded her head against Chad's chest.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Did I ever mention that I suck at writing epilogues? I always have a horrible time with my last chapter. It never fails. I had terrible writer's block, and this one didn't turn out any better than my previous epilogues. Oh well.

Thank you to everyone for reading. This fic still isn't my favorite, but I wanted to do something very dramatic and hurt/comforty. I've tried not to beg for reviews in my previous chapters, but if everyone who actually read the story to the end could leave some feedback, it'd be awesome. :)


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